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GENERAL EDITOR 

FELIX E. SCHELLING 



MASTERPIECES OF THE ENGLISH DRAMA 

Felix E. Schelling, Ph.D., LL.D., General Editor 

CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE: Tamburldine (both parts). 
Doctor Faustus. The Jew of Malta. Edward the Second. 
With an Introduction by William Lyon Phelps, Professor 
of English Literature, Yale University. 

GEORGE CHAPMAN: All Fools. Eastward Ho. Bussy 
D'Ambois. The Kcvenge of Bussy D'Ambois. With an 
Introduction by Havelock Ellis, editor of The Mermaid 
Series of English Dramatists, etc. 

FRANCIS BEAUMONT and JOHN FLETCHER: The 

Maid's Tragedy. Philaster. The Faithful Shepherdess. 
Bonduca. Edited by Felix E. Schelling, Professor of Eng- 
lish Literature, University of Pennsylvania. 

BEN JONSON : Every Man in His Humour. Volpone. Epi- 
ccene. The Alchemist. With an Introduction by Ernest 
Rhys, editor of Dekker's Plays, etc. 

THOMAS MIDDLETON: Micfazlmas Term. A Trick to 
Catch the Old One. A Fair Quarrel. The Changeling. 
Edited by Martin W. Sampson, Professor of English Liter- 
ature, Cornell University. 

PHILIP MASSINGER: • The Roman Actor. The Maid of 
Honour. A New Way to Pay Old Debts. Believe as You 
List. Edited by Lucius A. Sherman, Dean of the Graduate 
College and Head Professor of English Literature, Univer- 
sity of Nebraska. 

JOHN WEBSTER and CYRIL TOURNEUR: The White 
Devil. The Duchess of Malfi. Appius and Virginia. — 
The Revenge?'^ Tragedy. With an Introduction by Ashley 
H. Thorndike, Professor of English, Columbia University. 

WILLIAM CONGREVE: The Double- Dealer. The Way 
of the World. Love for Love. The Mourning Bride. With 
an Introduction by William Archer, editor of Farquhar's 
plays, etc. 

OLIVER GOLDSMITH and RICHARD BRINSLEY 
SHERIDAN: The Good-natured Man. She Stoops to 
Conquer* — The Rivals, The School for Scandal. The 
Critic Edited by Isaac N. Demmon, Professor of English, 
University of Michigan. 



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From the portrait engraved by 

T. Cross, prefixed to 

Three New Playes 

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Ittasttrpwe* of the (foolish $trama 

PHILIP 
MASSINGER 



EDITED BY 

LUCIUS A. SHERMAN 

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA 




NEW YORK CINCINNATI ■ CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 




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Copyright, 191 2, by 
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. 

Copyright, 191 2, in Great Britain. 

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W. P. I 



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CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction . i 

The Roman Actor .... • - • 33 

The Maid of Honour 117 

A New Way to Pay Old Debts 209 

Believe as You List 305 

Notes c . . 394 

Glossary 414 




PHILIP MASSINGER 1 

The development of literature is generally slow, 
and dramatic evolution, slowest of all literary growth. 
But we are never weary of remembering that the 
Elizabethan drama began and wrought itself out to 
perfection in a single generation. Gorboduc was 
separated from Kyd's Spanish Tragedy by only a 
space of fifteen years, while the interval between 
The Spanish Tragedy and Shakespeare's King 
Lear was but five years greater. From King 
Lear to the last work of Shirley we trace the pe- 
riod of decline, closing in 1640. Some playwrights 
of the period inclined to epic ideals and themes, 
some to the manners and incidents of common life. 
Massinger belongs midway between these extremes 
of romanticism and realism. 

Philip Massinger was born, as is believed, at 
Salisbury, Wilts, in November, 1583. No entry of 

1 The first complete edition of Massinger's dramas was prepared 
(1870) by Francis Cunningham. The same plays, with the ex- 
ception of Believe as You List, had been earlier edited by Coxeter 
(1759), Mason (1779)' Gilford (1805), Harness (1831), and Cole- 
ridge (1840). Gilford's edition (reprinted 1813, 1850) is still the 
standard. Ten of the best plays, edited by A. Symons, are avail- 
able in the Mermaid Series. A volume similar, in the hands of 
F. P. Emery, is promised for the Belles-Lettres Series. 

A full discussion of Massinger's authorship and cooperation with 
other playwrights is given in Schelling's Elizabethan Drama (190S). 
Introductory study of the period should be guided by Thorndike's 
Tragedy, Types of Literature Series (1908). There is an authorita- 
tive chapter on Massinger, with a bibliography, in The Cambridge 
History of English Literature, vol. vi (1910). The following sketch 
has borrowed materiallv from these volumes. 



2 PHILIP MASSINGER 

the place or date of his birth has been preserved, 
but there is record of his christening, on the 24th, 
at St. Thomas church. His father, Arthur Mas- 
singer — a variant of " Messenger " — was a member 
of Parliament and a valued attendant upon Henry 
Lord Herbert, second Earl of Pembroke. His 
confidential relations with the earl imply that he 
was a man of unusual accomplishments and worth. 
Records of the family show him employed as a 
messenger from Pembroke to the queen, and com- 
missioned to negotiate a marriage between his pa- 
tron's family and the house of Burleigh. He was at 
one time strongly recommended by his chief for the 
post of Examiner in the Court of the Marches of 
Wales. 

It is possible that young Philip lived or served in 
Wilton House, the great seat of the earls. In this 
most sumptuous of English palaces, Philip Sidney, 
brother to the Countess of Pembroke, had exiled 
himself for some two years before the birth of Mas- 
singer, and had here composed the Arcadia. Hence 
some biographers have pleased themselves with the 
f.mcy that Sidney may have been godfather at the 
baptism of the future dramatist, and given to him 
his name. But Sidney's recall to court and his 
marriage seem to have removed him from his retreat 
too early in 1583 to assist at the poet's christening 
in November. Sidney was knighted on January 
13 of this year, and was at once drawn into the full 
tide of state affairs. We may conclude that, if 
Massin^er owed his name 'to Sidney, as is likely, he 
was honoured with it because of admiration aroused 
at Wilton, as elsewhere, by this prince of men. 

Nothing is known of young Massinger till he was 



PHILIP MASSINGER 3 

matriculated as a commoner at St. Alban's Hall, 
Oxford, in the spring of 1602. The registry shows 
him entered as (Sarisburiensis) " f rom Salisbury/' 
and [generosi filius) " son of a gentleman." Where 
he had prepared for entrance, and at whose cost, 
has not even been conjectured. Anthony a Wood, 
the Oxford antiquary (born 1632), affirms that his 
expenses here were defrayed by the Earl of Pem- 
broke. This is interesting if true, since with the 
death of Henry in 1601 the title had passed to Wil- 
liam Herbert, third Earl of Pembroke, once supposed 
the " W. H." of Shakespeare's Sonnets. 1 Wood fur- 
ther testifies that Massinger "gave his mind more to 
poetry and romance for about four years or more, 
than to logic and philosophy, which he ought to 
have done, as he was patronized to that end." One 
finds little to bear this out in Massinger's dramatic 
work, which shows as much bent towards disputa- 
tion and philosophizing as towards romance. It 
is clear that Massinger read with some diligence in 
the classics, but one looks in vain for marks of par- 
tiality or fondness for learning, such as shown in 
works like Jonson's. 

No other references to the student life of Massin- 
ger are met with till 1606. In this year he suddenly 
left the University for no reason that is of record, 
and without taking his degree. It has been surmised 

1 That Massinger considered himself to have some claim seems 
shown by his poetical epistle, asking assistance, and addressed to this 
earl after he was made Lord Chamberlain in 161 5. As no attention 
appears to have been paid to the request, some colour is given to 
the theory that he had lost favour with the family. On the other 
hand, the fourth Earl of Pembroke, who succeeded to the title in 
1630, granted Massinger an annuity of thirty pounds during his 
lifetime. 



4 PHILIP MASSINGER 

that the death of his father occurred about this 
time, and caused him to lose heart in his studies. 
Another conjecture, of somewhat better warrant, 
makes him to have " exchanged the religion 6i his 
father for one at that time the object of terror, 
persecution, and hatred." Support to the notion 
that Massinger had turned Catholic — and per- 
haps thus lost the favour of his patron — has been 
plausibly interpreted out of at least two plays, 
The Maid of Honour and The Renegado. In the first 
of these the title character becomes a nun, and 
in the second, the Jesuit Francisco is idealized in 
a spirit, considering the state of popular feeling 
against the order, otherwise difficult to explain. The 
fact also of Massinger's especial intimacy with Sir 
Aston Cockayne and the Earl of Carnarvon, both 
of the Catholic party, has been thought significant 
of his sympathies. 

Wood testifies that Massinger, " being sufficiently 
famed for several specimens of wit, betook himself 
to writing plays." It was thus inevitable that the 
young student, on leaving the University, should 
gravitate to London, the only place where men of 
literary talent or ambition could expect to speed. 
Shakfespeare was now writing the group of plays 
represented by Macbeth and King Lear, and thus 
raising the stage to its acme of development and 
influence. How the stripling of twenty-three found 
means to subsist, or who brought out his trial pieces, 
will remain untold unless documents buried in the 
Public Records Office shall one day tell us the 
secret, [t seems clear that he soon won the friend- 
ship of Fletcher, who bad come down before him 
to London, and had already, as early as 1604, pro- 






PHILIP MASSINGER 5 

duced acceptable work. All records are silent con- 
cerning Massinger's success until 162 1, when a 
work of his, under the title of The Woman } s Plot* 
was brought out at court. This play has been iden- 
tified as the one revised by Massinger and licensed 
thirteen years later, with its name changed to A 
Very Woman. It was an example of mixed tragedy 
and comedy of the sort which, since the appearance 
of Philaster (about 1610), the stage affected. In 
the fifteen years between Massinger's coming to 
London and the presentation of The Woman's Plot, 
at least six other plays from his hand, or his hand 
strengthened by Fletcher's, appear to have been 
brought out, — Minerva's Sacrifice, The Orator, The 
Wandering Lovers, Philenzo and Hippolita, Antonio 
and Vallida, and The Tyrant; some of these being 
probably older works, merely recast by Massinger. 

It is of course incredible that a dramatist should 
subsist for fifteen years, in Jacobean London, on the 
income derivable from the making or remaking of 
half-a-dozen plays, or of twice that number. In 
the records of Dulwich College, Malone, the famous 
critic (born 1741), discovered a document which 
throws light upon the course Massinger's fortunes 
were taking. It is a letter addressed by Massinger 
and two companions to a our most loving friend, 
Mr. Philip Hinchlow, esq.": 

" Mr. Hinchlow, 

You understand our unfortunate extremitie, and I 
doe not thincke you so void of cristianitie but that you 
would throw so much money into the Thames as wee re- 
quest now of you, rather than endanger so many innocent 
lives. You know there is xl. more at least to be receaved 
of you for the play. We desire you to lend us vl. of that ; 
which shall be allowed to you, without which we cannot be 



6 PHILIP MASSINGER 

bayled, nor / play any more till this be dispatch'd. It will 
lose you xxl. ere the end of next weeke, besides the hinder- 
ance of the next new play. Pray, sir, consider our cases 
with humanity, and now give us cause to acknowledge you 
our true friend in time of neede. Wee have entreated Mr. 
Davison to deliver this note, as well to witness your love 
as our promises, and alwayes acknowledgement to be ever, 
Your most thanckfull and loving friend, 
Nat. Field. 
" The money shall be abated out of the money remayns 
for the play of Mr. Fletcher and ours. 

Rob. Daborne. 
" I have ever found you a true loving friend to mee, and in 
soe small a suite, it beeinge honest, I hope you will not 
fail us. 

Philip Massinger." 

This communication is indorsed as follows : 

u Rec. by mee Robert Davison of Mr. Hinshloe for the use 
of Mr. Daboerne, Mr. Feeld, Mr. Messenger, the some 
of vl. 

Rob. Davison." 

This petition belongs not later than 1614, and was 
perhaps presented a year earlier. A bond pledging 
Daborne and Massinger to pay "Hinchlow" the sum 
of three pounds, and bearing date of July 4, 161 5, 
has been unearthed, but refers certainly to a later 
loan. "Hinchlow" is the famous Henslowe, at this 
time financier of the Hope and of other theatres, 
and for many years a broker in plays and costumes ;. 
and the address of the incarcerated debtors, "To 
our most loving friend," which is not irony, but ought 
to be, suggests the usual relations between helpless 
borrowers and the pawnshop. Of the co-petitioners, 
Field was a playwright and actor of note who had 
been connected with the stage since boyhood, play- 
ing first female parts, and becoming eventually a 
favourite interpreter of roles in comedy. He after- 



PHILIP MASSINGER 7 

wards assisted Massinger in composing The Fatal 
Dowry. Robert Daborne was a dramatist of some 
ability, producing alone the extant plays of A Chris- 
tian Turned Turk and The Poor Mail's Comfort, 
and with Field, Fletcher, and Massinger, The Honest 
Man's Fortune. 

After The Woman's Plot was performed at court, 
in 1621, Massinger's career may be traced with 
some definiteness in the records or dedications of 
plays produced. He was at work, perhaps at the 
time The Woman's Plot appeared, upon Dekker's 
romantic tragedy, The Virgin Martyr ', which he put 
into its present form. To the same year belongs 
also The Unnatural Combat, a variant of the story 
of the Cenci, in which a father kills his son in a 
sword duel, conceives a criminal passion for his 
daughter, and is appropriately dispatched at the 
close by a bolt of lightning. Two years earlier, 
Massinger had produced with Field's aid The Fatal- 
Dowry, a domestic tragedy laid at Dijon, in France. 
Of other tragedies, The Duke of Milan was one of 
the most successful, being based upon the story of 
Herod and Mariamne, but transferred to Italy, 
and attached to the fortunes of the Sforzas. It 
was printed in 1623. The Roman Actor, which Mas- 
singer pronounces in the dedication "the most per- 
fect birth of his Minerva/' was registered in 1626. 
Believe as You List was acted in 1630. The Em- 
peror of the East, licensed in 1631, employs itself 
with the jealousy of the younger Theodosius towards 
his empress Eudocia. and the consequent murder 
of Paulinus, the emperor's kinsman. These seven 
plays make up the list of Massinger's extant trag- 
edies. 



8 PHILIP MASSINGER 

Of tragicomedies, A Very Woman — written prob- 
ably in 162 1 and known first under the name of 
The Woman' } s Plot — details the change of feeling 
in a Sicilian princess towards the prince of Tarent, 
whom she at first rejects with scorn, but learns to 
love on his later appearing in the guise of a slave. 
This seems to have been followed, within a year, 
by The Maid of Honour. The Bondman, first acted 
in 1623, is also laid in Sicily, and centres about the 
title character Marullo, who is a bondman only in 
disguise, come from Thebes to promote a vengeance 
for the wrongs of his sister. The Renegado, licensed 
in 1624, is the story of a Venetian turned pirate and 
Mohammedan, who is at last redeemed through 
the offices of the Jesuit Francisco. The Great Duke 
of Florence, which has been praised as "the most 
refined and delightful" work of this author, follows 
in 1627. In dedicating the piece to Sir Robert 
Wiseman, Massinger makes a notable admission : 
"For myself, I will freely, and with a zealous thank- 
fulness, acknowledge that for many years I had but 
faintly subsisted, if I had not often tasted of your 
bounty." Possibly this is an exaggeration, yet is 
good evidence concerning the uncertainty of the 
author's fortunes. Massinger's plot in the present 
case concerns itself with Cosimo de' Medici and the 
marriage of his nephew Giovanni, who is at the last 
permitted to wed the daughter of Charomonte, his 
tutor. Massinger's next play, The Picture (1629), 
is formed upon the notion of a magic miniature, 
which shows to a lover, by its shifting colours, the 
hesitating loyalty of his mistress. The last of 
Massinger's extant plays is The Bashful Lover 
acted in 1 635 — in which the title character is a di: 







PHILIP MASSINGER 



guised prince of Milan who has the good fortune 
to rescue his inamorata from nameless villains 
by the strength of his arm. These seven dramas 
make up the sum of Massinger's contributions to 
tragicomedy. 

Massinger's work in comedy proper began early, 
perhaps near the date of his petition to Henslowe, 
with a revision of The Old Law, written by Middle- 
ton and Rowley about 1600., Next to this belongs 
The City Madam, a realistic comedy — dating per- 
haps from 1619 — in which the wife and daugh- 
ters of Sir John Frugal, a rich merchant, are subjected 
to discipline for extravagance by Luke Frugal, 
elevated for the nonce to the control of his brother's 
concerns, but proved divertingly unworthy of any 
trust. It has much liveliness and variety, and is 
on the whole one of the best studies in manners of 
the period. The Parliament of Love, acted in 1624, 
has a flimsy romantic plot, and has come down to 
us in a mutilated state. Its chief character, the 
Lady Bellisant, restores to Beaupre her recreant 
husband, and confutes his slanders of herself, before 
a parliament of love, by strategy of the sort practised 
by Helena in AIVs Well of Shakespeare. To 1625 
is assigned A New Way to Pay Old Debts, which has 
proved the most popular of Massinger's plays, 
and still holds the stage. The Guardian is the lively 
story, laid in Italy, of a banished nobleman and the 
reformed affection of his daughter, who after an 
attempted elopement falls into the hands of the 
appointed hero, and sees her sometime lover accept 
eventually her waiting-maid. These staled elements 
were treated with unusual skill, and the product, 
brought out in 1633, attracted the attention of 



10 PHILIP MASSINGER 

the king, who called for a performance of the piece 
at court. Prynne's Histriomastix, or Scourge of 
Players, had just appeared, and Charles's counter- 
blast was an order to present The Guardian on the 
1 2th of January, which was a Sunday. The five 
plays named make up Massinger's contribution to 
romantic and realistic comedy, and fill up the list 
of the nineteen dramas known to be extant. 

Massinger is believed to have been chief or sole 
author of fourteen other plays, which have vari- 
ously disappeared. About 1750, John Warburton, 
Somerset Herald and retired exciseman, came into 
possession of fifty-five dramas of this period in manu- 
script form, with the intention of having them ex- 
amined and perhaps published. All were written 
upon a species of paper that looked attractive to 
Warburton's cook, who appropriated them leaf by 
leaf, as covering for her pastry. Nine plays of Mas- 
singer are supposed to have passed thus from reach : 
Antonio and Vallia, The Tyrant, The Honour of 
Women, Alexias or the Chaste Gallant, The Judge, 
Minerva's Sacrifice, Philenzo and Hippolita, Feast 
and Welcome, and The Noble Choice. Five addi- 
tional pieces, The Unfortunate Piety, Cleander, The 
Orator, The King and Subject, and The Fair An- 
choress of Pausilippo, have otherwise perished. 1 

1 Critics have connected Massinger's name with at least twenty- 
one plays not formerly in any sense accredited to this author. It 
is believed that his hand can be detected in the style or construc- 
tion of the following, popularly attributed to Beaumont and Fletcher, 
or to Fletcher singly : Barnavelt, Beggars 1 Bush, The Bloody Brother, 
The Custom of the Country, The Double Marriage, The Fair Maid of 
the Inn, The False Our, The Honest Man's Fortune, The Jeweler of 
Amsterdam, The Knight of Malta, 'The Laws of Candy % The Little 
French Lawyer, The Lovers 1 Progress, Love's Cure, The Prophetess, 
'The Queen of Corinth, The Sea Voyage, The Spanish Curate, and 



PHILIP MASSINGER II 

Massinger's contributions to verse, outside his 
plays, are confined to a few occasional poems, of 
which the one entitled Sero sed Serio is the most im- 
portant. It is addressed to Philip, Earl of Mont- 
gomery — who had succeeded also to the earldom 
of Pembroke in 1630 — "Upon the deplorable and 
untimely Death of his late truly noble son, Charles 
Lord Herbert/' in 1634. Massinger begins naively 
by trying to apologize for not supplying a poem on 
the occasion of Lord Charles's marriage, which oc- 
curred earlier the same year: 

'Twas fate, not want of duty, did me wrong ; 
Or, with the rest, my hymenaeal song 
Had been presented, when the knot was tied 
That made the bridegroom and the virgin bride 
A happy pair. I cursed my absence then 
That hindered it, and bit my star-crossed pen, 
Too busy in stage-blanks, and trifling rhyme, 
When such a cause called, and so apt a time 
To pay a general debt ; mine being more 
Than they could owe, who since, or heretofore, 
Have laboured with exalted lines to raise 
Brave piles, or rather pyramids of praise 
To Pembroke and his family : and dare I, 
Being silent then, aim at an elegy ? 

■ Some time before, after the production of The Bond- 

\ man, Massinger had brought himself to the atten- 
tion of the family once served by his father, by dedi- 
cating the play to Montgomery, and the earl had 

.1 assisted in procuring for it the necessary licence. 
The inference is that Montgomery's offices were 

J successful after, but not before, the marriage of his 
son. 

There seems small reason to doubt that Massinger 
repined at his lot and, more deeply than Shakespeare, 

Thierry and Theodoret. It is inferred also that Massinger had some 
share in the revision, with Fletcher, of Shakespeare's Henry VIII. 



12 PHILIP MASSINGER 

felt that, from the craft of play-making, " his name 
had received a brand." Massinger was certainly 
not endowed with largeness of personality, and his 
dedications are often querulous and low-spirited. 
Yet he seems, on the whole, to have had his share 
of recognition and patronage. No play of his ap- 
pears to have been called for at court, after the 
performance of The Woman's Plot before King 
James, until 1631. The Emperor of the East, licensed 
this year, received this honour, and Massinger wrote 
for the occasion a special prologue, which incidentally 
shows, in its concluding lines, that the play had 
been unfavourably received : 

And yet this poor work suffered from the rage 
And envy of some Catos of the stage : 
Yet still he hopes this Play, which then was seen 
With sore eyes, and condemned out of their spleen, 
May be by you, the supreme judge, set free, 
And raised above the reach of calumny. 

It is possible that the play had been asked for, not 
by Charles, but Queen Henrietta, since Massinger 
avers in the prologue that he had not dared 

Lard his grave matter with one scurrilous jest, 
But laboured that no passage might appear 
But what the Queen without a blush might hear. 

Considering the essential character of the play, we 
must account this hardly more than empty compli- 
ment. It is of record that the queen, on another 
occasion, did Massinger the honour of attending a 
performance of his Cleander, licensed in 1634, at the 
Blackfriars' theatre. 

In spite of Massinger's humble dedications and 
implorations to the great, it is clear that he was no 
truckler, but, quite like certain of his fellow play- 
wrights, did not hesitate to pronounce against the 



PHILIP MASSINGER 1 3 

government on issues of the day. In 1631 the Mas- 
ter of the Revels refused to license a play of Mas- 
singer's, "because it did contain dangerous matter, 
as the deposing of Sebastian, King of Portugal, by 
Philip III, and there being a peace sworn betwixt 
the kings of England and Spain. " The unpopular 
treaty, which was strongly disapproved by the 
queen, had been signed the year before. After the 
misadventure of his second play, Massinger seems 
to have produced nothing until 1633, and probably 
alludes to this inaction in the opening lines of his 
prologue to The Guardian: 

After twice putting forth to sea, his fame 

Shipwrecked in either, and his once-known name 

In two years' silence buried, perhaps lost 

In the general opinion ; at our cost — 

A zealous sacrifice to Neptune made 

For good success in his uncertain trade — 

Our author weighs up anchors, and once more 

Forsaking the security of the shore, 

Resolves to prove his fortune. 

But in the meanwhile Massinger seems to have al- 
tered the form of the rejected drama, by shifting 
the scene and rechristening the characters, and thus 
produced the play now know r n under the name of 
Believe as You List. It is likely also that the present 
title is not the original, but was phrased to squint 
at the restrictions of the Revels' office. Evidently 
Massinger could not deny himself a thrust at the 
censor, in his prologue to the ew form : 

So far our author is from arrogance 

That he craves pardon for his ignorance 

In story. If you find what's Roman here, 

Grecian, or Asiatic, draw too near 

A late and sad example, 'tis confessed 

He's but an English scholar at his best, 

A stranger to cosmography, and may err 

In the countries' names, the shape and character 

Of the persons he presents. 



14 PHILIP MASSINGER 

In the only other recorded instance of Massinger's 
meddling with politics, his boldness of speech is 
sensational and surprising. In 1638, when public 
feeling over ship subsidies was intense, The King 
and Subject was produced, and in it Massinger ad- 
ventures these lines : 

Monies ? We'll raise supplies which ways we please, 
And force you to subscribe to blanks, in which 
We'll mulct you as we shall think fit. The Caesars 
In Rome were wise, acknowledging no laws 
But what their swords did ratify ; the wives 
And daughters of the senators bowing to 
Their wills as deities. . . . 

The Master of the Revels, who perpetuates this pas- 
sage from the lost play, comments thus upon it : 






This is a piece taken out of Philip Massinger's play, 
called The King and the Subject, and entered here forever, 
to be remembered by my son, and those that cast their 
eyes upon it, in honour of King Charles my master, who 
reading over the play at Newmarket, set his mark upon 
the place with his own hand, and in these words: "This 
is too insolent, and to be changed." Note, that the poet 
makes it the speech of a king, Don Pedro, King of Spain, 
and spoken to his subjects. 

The reference to King Charles's methods of ex- 
torting ship-money is unequivocal. In spite of the 
libel on Charles's personal character, as implied in 
the last part of the quotation, the play was allowed, 
as a further memorandum in the Register explains: 

At Greenwich, the 4th of June. Mr. W. Murray gave me 
power from the king to allow of the play, and told me that 
he would warrant it. 

It is stated also in the record that the name of the 
piece was changed. Malone conjectures that it 
was the play now called The Tyrant, which perished 






PHILIP MASSINGER 15 



at the hands of Warburton's cook. There is evi- 
dence that it was acted on the day succeeding the 
date of the king's approval. 

Like most of his fellow playwrights, Massinger 
was not long-lived. All the old dramatists lived 
intensely, and many wore themselves out with work 
and worry. Massinger at least died in harness. He 
went to his rest, as in health, on the evening of 
March 16, 1640, but on the morning of the 17th 
was found dead in his bed in Southwark, on the 
Bankside. He was buried in the church of St. 
Saviour, near the Globe, where the record of receipts 
and expenditures for the month shows this entry 
of the charges : ■ 

March 18 : Philip Massinger, stranger, in the church . . . 2 li. 

He was entered as a "stranger" in the sense merely 
of " non-resident" in the parish. He was buried, ac- 
cording to the testimony of his friend, Sir Aston 
Cockayne, in the same grave in which Fletcher had 
been laid to rest twelve years before. In this church, 
Shakespeare's brother Edmund, also a player, had 
been interred, "with a forenoon knell of the great 
bell," in December, 1607. Here also lay the ashes 
of the moral Gower. Sir Aston Cockayne wrote 
i the common epitaph of the indefatigable co-workers 
for the stage : 

In the same grave Fletcher was buried, here 
Lies the stage poet Philip Massinger : 
Playes they did write together, were great friends : 
And now one grave includes them at their ends : 
So whom on earth nothing did part, beneath 
Here, in their fames, they lie in spight of death. 

That Massinger was no ordinary man is evident 
from the largeness of his work. That he should 



16 PHILIP MASSINGER 

have been employed in the construction or revision 
of more than a thirtieth of the sixteen hundred plays 
known by title to have been produced between 
1550 and 1650, proves his zeal and fertility. That 
he was, as he says, a bookman, a "scholar/' rather 
than a man of the world or boon companion, is va- 
riously suggested in his work, and borne out by 
features in his portrait. Though he took life hard, 
he was not incapable of friendships, as his relations 
with Fletcher show.. He had something of the 
lyric gift of his predecessors, but used it seldom. 
He won his standing by sheer diligence, not by fancy 
flights or spellbinding monologues. He is no opti- 
mist, and his characters know little of social or do- 
mestic joys. 

Massinger's dramatic tact and strength appear 
to the best advantage in The Roman Actor, which 
he considered his most perfect work. As it is not 
superior to other plays in the general treatment 
of personality, he must have held this of lesser 
moment. Paris, the part designed to represent the 
typical actor, is a noble creation, clearly conceived 
and deftly handled. Accused by the emperor of 
too ready a complaisance to the overtures of Domitia, 
he refuses to betray the insistent baseness of his 
temptress, and dies a martyr to his chivalry. He 
is magnified to fancy by being made to undertake 
four difficult roles, as well as a defence before the 
senate that silences his accusers. While the emperor 
is minded to spare his life, he enacts "the false 
servant" with such effect as to arouse afresh his 
master's rage. The character of Domitian is in tem- 
perately drawn, at least as emperor. Domitia, too, 
is extravagantly treated. Summoned to be empress 



PHILIP MASSINGER 1 7 

by Parthenius, who brings an order of divorcement, 
she parts thus from her husband : 

Lamia. Can you, Domitia, 

Consent to this ? 

Domitia. 'Twould argue a base mind 

To live a servant, when I may command. 
I now am Caesar's ; and yet, in respect 
I once was yours, when you come to the palace, 
Provided you deserve it in your service, 

You shall find me your good mistress. — Wait me, Parthenius. — 
And now farewell, poor Lamia ! 

This seems gratuitous and strange. Domitia did 
not dislike her husband ; and reticence is not a hard 
expedient. Massinger can scarcely have meant this 
as the type of degeneracy in Roman matronhood. 
Withal there is much killing, but little tragedy. 
The play has movement and variety, and holds 
interest potently to the end. 

Massinger is not wanting in imagination, but 
writes from it rather than from observation. He 
makes natural dialogue, which is less brilliant than sus- 
tained. His spiritual senses are not " tickle o' the 
sear," sublimating incidental and common thoughts, 
— as in 

death, 
The undiscovered country, from whose bourne 
No traveller returns, 

and the high seriousness of diction such as Shake- 
speare's is absent from his mind and text. The 
style of even his earlier extant plays is not ambi- 
tious, is correct in its use of figures, and often shows 
a smoothness and strength of diction hard to be 
surpassed : 

Now, you that hold 

L Intelligence with the stars, and dare prefix 
The day and hour in which we are to part 
With life and empire, punctually foretelling 
The means and manner of our violent end : 



18 PHILIP MASSINGER 

As you would purchase credit to your art, 
Resolve me, since you are assured of us, 
What fate attends yourself ? 

Technically, his verse shows development and 
maturity of taste. There is not a high proportion 
of end-stopped lines; feminine and weak endings 
are numerous. On the other hand, the metre some- 
times runs wild, as in 

A precedent that may imitate, but not equal. 

We may compare with this the last line but one of 
(p. 17) the first quotation. 

Massinger does not readily, or perhaps willingly, 
idealize; he does not make capital of greatness. 
Hence it would be difficult to burlesque his charac- 
ters. It has been charged that Massinger in effect 
does this himself by causing them to act illogically, 
in default or defiance of motives. We may indeed 
say that he uses the consistencies of human nature 
less than its inconsistencies. But what drama- 
tist does not ? In The Maid of Honour, which has 
many notable examples, he shows King Robert 
false and harsh at the beginning, and makes him 
perjure himself, in his message to Siena, from dis- 
may at the number of his subjects enlisted against 
that duchy. Yet, in later scenes, under the influ- 
ence of Camiola, he is wholly noble. When the 
Duchess Aurelia appears, he does not show her 
eminence before Camiola, who has no rank. All 
this is surely not unmeaning, but an intended trib- 
ute to the title character of the play. 

Tiertoldo, hero of the piece, is more liable to the 
same criticism, and more unjustly. He is chivalrous 
and princely, and vastly better than his type. At 



: 



PHILIP MASSINGER 19 

the moment of trial, he disappoints himself, as any 
generous and unstalwart gallant might, under the 
blandishments of Aurelia, whose is a potent person- 
ality. Men who fascinate women are singularly 
capable of control by flattery. Women who have 
like power over men are true to preference, as Ber- 
toldo is not. Is not this the whole story here? 
It is besides a drama of circumstance rather than 
of character. 

And Camiola, who is Massinger's favourite hero- 
ine, if he has one, seems to the careless reader all 
compact of contradictions. The soul of diffidence 
and modesty, she deems herself to such degree un- 
worthy of marriage with the king's brother as to 
refuse him, yet confesses her love for him with as- 
tonishing openness and unreserve. But her humility 
is not pretended, her frankness is not unaccountable. 
Bertoldo seems in gifts and presence a divinity, she 
may confess worship to him as to a god. When he 
is helpless and she saves him, she binds him by oath 
to marry her. This is not distrust of the man, but 
of his class, in no age chary of maids of honour. Una- 
ware that she is still spiritually preferred by Bertoldo, 
she yields to the first of woman's instincts and pro- 
poses to tear him away from her titled rival. This 
leads to a contest over their personal charms — a 
thing abhorrent to Camiola's nature — with Aurelia, 
who invites it. When, at the comment of Gonzaga, — 

I see fair women on no terms will yield 
Priority in beauty, — 

she realizes the inequality and ambitiousness of her 
position, she comes to herself, and renounces her 
pretensions : 



20 PHILIP MASSINGER 

you are all beauty, 
Goodness, and virtue; and poor I not worthy 
As a foil to set you off. 

All this is wholly feminine. Her decision at the 
close is the last reaction of her retiring nature, and 
lends to the whole an idealizing touch. 

Massinger shows small liking for formality, and 
often fails, as here, of compassing the largest effect 
from a culmination. It has been said, and rightly, 
that he does not reach the level of the sublime. He 
shrinks, like his Camiola, from the grand manner, 
and refuses to exploit his powers. He seems una- 
ware that he has exhibited the utmost of this hero- 
ine's strength and nobility of nature, not at the cli- 
max in the third act, as we might expect, nor here 
at the end, but at an unvital point. The inspiring 
moment comes in scene v of the fourth act, when, 
rising from her knees, she says these words to King 
Roberto : 

With your leave, I must not kneel, sir, 
While I reply to this, but thus rise up 
In my defence, and tell you, as a man — 
Since, when you are unjust, the deity, 
Which you may challenge as a king, parts from you — 
'Twas never read in holy writ, or moral, 
That subjects on their loyalty were obliged 
To love their sovereign's vices. 

Perhaps nowhere in plays of the period, not except- 
ing the court scene (III. ii) of The Winter's Tale, 
is there a situation of greater possibilities. But the 
repose and majesty of righteous self-assertion are 
not here. What sublimity was in reach the author 
seems not to have imagined. 

The criticism that Massinger does not endow his 
characters with the quality of self-revelation pro- 
ceeds from a wrong assumption. If we do not look 



, 



PHILIP MASSINGER 2 1 



'or this quality in modern plays, why should we re- 
quire it of the older school ? Massinger's fellows, 
save one, do not possess the gift, and this fact proves 
them playwrights, and proves Shakespeare a maker 
of literature rather than of plays. In literature, 
the lines alone reveal the character. In proper stage 
plays, the actor finds and assumes the personality — 
which the mere reader may not adequately dis- 
cern — and is essential to a complete and clear inter- 
pretation of the part. 

Massinger does not therefore, at the outset, pre- 
sent final and compelling signs of character. In the 
development of his plays, there is progressive char- 
acterization, but nothing of the precision of a Mac- 
beth, in which every syllable seems commissioned. 
Herein is the reason why Shakespeare is better read 
than acted. Massinger is better acted than read. 

In A New Way to Pay Old Debts, which is a typi- 
cal stage play of standard quality, general types are 
shown, and the actors left to complete the charac- 
ters. Modern actors of Shakespearean roles fre- 
quently disregard signs of character not to their 
advantage. In Massinger, the actor supplements 
and enlarges, but does not ignore, the author's will. 

Coming to the construction of Massinger's plays, 
we encounter questions of some difficulty. A 
rather broad comparison of chief dramas in all liter- 
atures has brought to many critics the conviction 
that there are no principles of dramatic construc- 
tion, and that each sufficient playwright is a law 
unto himself. There are no accepted standards by 
which the craftsmanship of any given dramatist 
may be tried. 

There are, however, fundamental features in which 



22 PHILIP MASSINGER 

the majority of plays agree. Plays are a form of 
story-telling, like the novel, heroic poems such as 
the Mneid, and the short story; and all modes of 
story-telling are to a certain extent alike. The first 
divisions of a play, as of a novel, present a situation, 
or the beginning of a history, out of which we con- 
ceive and desire a certain conclusion. The last 
act or chapter fulfils or defeats this expectation, 
and makes the story comedy or tragedy accordingly. 

Every school or period of the drama has its own 
enlargement of this fundamental form. There is a 
variant manner of suggesting the outcome, as well 
as of* involving the plot, and of shaping or signifying 
the climax of the action. In some modern dramas, 
the outcome is often not prefigured before the end 
of the first act, and several expedients are used to 
involve the plot. In Massinger's type of construc- 
tion, the issue is sighted early in the first act, the 
plot is involved usually by two obstructions, and 
there is a climax of interest at the middle of the play. 
In other words, the Elizabethan evolution has already 
run its course, and established a definite and complete 
technique. 

Plays, we are to remember, are constructed from 
the point of view, not of the author or the stage, 
but of the audience. In Marlowe's tragedy of 
Doctor Fanstus, the title character is presented 
under such conditions as to dismay us, and make us 
crave his deliverance from the tempter. With Mar- 
lowe, this manner of presenting the enigma of the 
plot becomes established as Elizabethan. The type 
can be studied most easily in the great plays of 
Shakespeare, sueh as Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear. In 
Macbeth we conceive and covet a spectacular career 




PHILIP MASSINGER 23 

for the title character, even at the cost of crime. 
In Hamlet we are forced to imagine and desire that 
the dispossessed hero come to his own and his best 
as a prince and as a man. In King Lear we quickly 
feel that the amendment of Lear's follies and the 
reunion of his life with Cordelia's offer a consumma- 
tion devoutly to be wished. 

Besides the business of arousing the imagination 
and the sympathies of the audience, in the first act, 
and usually in the second situation, Shakespeare 
begins at once to intensify the interest he has aroused. 
To do this, he throws obstructions across the path 
that we have marked out mentally for the play. 
In Lear, for example, Goneril is made to suggest 
restrictive measures, to Regan, against her father, 
even in the first scene. We know what will be the 
success of any attempt to curb his spoiled nature, 
and it has the effect of making Lear leave, dinner- 
less, his daughter's home.- When Shakespeare has 
finished this stroke, 

Lear. How now ! Are the horses ready ? 
Gent. Ready, my lord. 
Lear. Come, boy, — 

he brings his first act to a close. In Macbeth the 
. first obstruction with which he irks his audience is 
Macbeth's purpose to remain inactive, allowing 
chance to crown him without his stir. Here simi- 
larly, when the author has brought Macbeth to say, 
"I am settled, and bend up Each corporal agent to 
this terrible feat," his first act ends. In Hamlet the 
first obstruction is the Ghost's commission, which 
we feel is sure to interfere with the career of our 
: splendid hero. This commission Hamlet accepts 



24 PHILIP MASSINGER 

at the close of Act I, and the act seems to end be- 
cause he accepts, although he accepts unwillingly : 

The time is out of joint. cursed spite, 
That ever I was born to set it right ! 

While some other dramatists involve the plot with 
three or four obstructions, Shakespeare employs 
but two, a greater and a less. The one finished with 
at the end of his first act is the lesser. Shakespeare 
establishes or removes the greater in the second scene 
or situation of his second act. In Macbeth, this chief 
obstruction, as Macbeth himself tells us (I. iv. 48- 
50), is Malcolm: 



The Prince of Cumberland ! That is a step 
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, 
For in my way it lies. 






He has, it would seem, contented himself with hop- 
ing that Duncan would make him his successor. 
The murder of Duncan, in the second scene of 
the second act, withdraws this obstacle from the 
plot. In Hamlet we saw the prince fearlessly de- 
fying the king his uncle, in the second scene, and 
scandalizing the whole court by forcing atten- 
tion upon his mother's shame. We fear that 
the king will not endure such conduct, but will 
have the man who daily and hourly insults him 
secretly dispatched. In the second scene of the 
second act we are made to know that Hamlet, 
unless proved to have discovered in some inexpli- 
cable way the king's secret, is to be let alone. In 
the second scene of Act II in King Lear we find Re- 
gan and Cornwall gone from home, thus denying 
shelter to the king, and even putting his messenger 
later in the stocks. Goneril, making her father's 



PHILIP MASSINGER 25 

stay in her home impossible, furnishes the lesser 
hindrance to our wishes. Regan, the weaker na- 
ture, being in dread of GoneriPs power over her 
future, furnishes the greater obstruction, not by 
standing at the door and forbidding her father's 
entry — Shakespeare could not have made his play 
monstrous to that degree — but by the unworthy 
device of running away, and leaving the king no 
place to lay his head. 

In the remainder of his second act Shakespeare 
adjusts the plot to the new conditions. The third 
act brings forward new forces, and new action, but 
generally not new figures. At the mid-point of this 
act, Shakespeare's scheme — agreeing with Aris- 
totle's that a drama must have a middle as well as 
an opening and a conclusion — places the climax of 
imaginative interest; for here the conclusion is 
foreshadowed. In Macbeth we experience this 
imaginative illumination at the point where Lady 
Macbeth turns her guests out of doors, to prevent 
Macbeth's betraying, as she expects, the things he 
sees. We know what will happen in Scotland after 
that. The thanes, dismissed supperless to their 
castles, at the dead of night, will not only talk, but 
act. 1 In Hamlet we get our vision of the outcome 
when the king rises, in the second scene. In Lear 
we see the light of the conclusion as we hear of the 
king carried forth sleeping, in a litter (III. vi), to- 
wards Dover. The fourth act, in Shakespeare, is 
always a preparing time ; forces and conditions are 
shaped in it for the denouement, which is developed 
in Act V. 

1 Since this turn is in no sense warranted by Holinshed, we see 
that Shakespeare has devised it to precipitate the plot. 



26 PHILIP MASSINGER 

The scheme is simple, and adhered to with as 
much unity as the plot-handling seen in the Antig- 
one, which Shakespeare's tragedies resemble. As 
a type, it belongs to the period, and represents the 
wisdom of the Elizabethan mind. The type is. 
clearly discerned in Beaumont and Fletcher, Ford, 
and Webster, and even Shirley, as well as Massinger. 
Yet it is plain that these men did not comprehend, 
in anything like a reflective or scientific manner, 
what principles they were following. It is perhaps 
not less true that Shakespeare himself was not aware 
of the things he was forced to do, with given mate- 
rials, in order to please himself in the drafting of a 
play. 

Of the four dramas chosen to represent the work 
of Massinger in this volume, The Maid of Honour 
has the best construction. We see, at the very out- 
set, that we are expected to take a romantic interest 
in Bertoldo, who will be the hero. In scene ii we 
meet with Sylli, — not a human, but wholly a stage 
figure, and introduced to serve as a foil to Bertoldo. 
We at once recognize in Camiola the proper hero- 
ine. She is already in love with Bertoldo, and we 
desire their union as the consummation of the 
history. On their meeting, we are dismayed to find 
that Camiola considers herself unworthy, and is 
minded to send Bertoldo away without the least 
promise of her favour. Her resolution to withhold 
herself is the lesser obstruction, and with this 
established in the plot, the first act ends, as the 
type requires. 

In Act II we encounter the major obstruction, 
namely, Fulgent io. Used, according to the standard 
plan, to involve the plot, he should have been in- 



PHILIP MASSINGER 27 

troduced early in Act I. Exactly in the typical place, 
in the second scene of this act, the obstacle in Ful- 
gentio is removed, Camiola refusing to admit his 
suit. The author, now departing from .the simple 
unity of the scheme, details the fortunes of the hero. 
In scene hi the Sienese army is shown; in scene iv 
the citadel which they besiege and in scene v Ber- 
toldo is exhibited as a captive. This turn intro- 
duces, in reality, a third obstruction to the issue 
which we desire. 

Act III should show new forces and new action, 
but instead we have merely Bertoldo's prospects 
made desperate. In scenes ii and iii comes proper 
third-act matter in the form of the new lover, Adorni, 
and his attempts to avenge Camiola. Here, without 
the trouble of making a separate situation, the author 
shapes his imaginative climax: Camiola confesses 
her love for Bertoldo, and levies upon Adorni's de- 
clared affection for herself, to the extent of sending 
him on a mission of ransom for Bertoldo. This is 
woman, but is it perfect woman ? Should not this 
generous nature have held out some promise of 
reward ? 

Act IV begins typically, with spectacular features 
that please the crowd, and degrade Aurelia, who is 
I now to be shown. She is thus kept from being in 
competition with Camiola. Any proper rival to the 
heroine would have been brought forward earlier in the 
plot. Scene iii is well conceived ; Bertoldo is shown 
in chains, with Adorni's entry. Bertoldo is over- 
joyed, confesses infinite obligation and gratitude. 
He pays his debts, and buys costly clothing, which 
takes Aurelia's eye. Aurelia, without preparing us 
with proofs of her susceptive nature, is immediately 



28 PHILIP MASSINGER 

enamoured of her prisoner. In scene iv Adorni has- 
tens to Palermo to tell Camiola, hoping now to be 
loved. In scene v the king tries to force Camiola 
to wed Fulgentio, and rouses in her the greatness 
which makes the character and the play. This 
normally ends, by the typical scheme, the preparing 
time. 

At the opening of Act V, Adorni is shown report- 
ing Bertoldo in Palermo with Aurelia. Camiola 
declares she will " ravish him from her arms" ; ap- 
parently thinking herself repudiated and forgotten 
because of her inferior station. In scene ii Roberto 
receives Bertoldo into his favour, apparently for rea- 
sons of state. Camiola and Aurelia are brought 
together, and Bertoldo silenced, in spite of Aure- 
lia's defence. Then after her complete vindication, 
with Aurelia holding out to her the dispensation 
procured for her own union with Bertoldo, Camiola 
astonishes the company, and ourselves, with the 
vow to dedicate the last and better part of her life 
to a "fair nunnery." 

In this there is no 'lesson,' as at first seems promised. 
This is not the place to consider the ultimate mean- 
ing of Massinger's plays ; but the ending here il- 
lustrates in no organic way either the perfidy of 
man or the self-immolation of woman. Neither 
does it idealize, as some have opined, the cloistral 
life. The element of surprise, which Massinger 
resolutely uses, is often a mere expedient of sensa- 
tional dramatists for escaping the logical conse- 
quences of their experiments. Great plays have 
organic endings, where the conclusion is evolved, 
according to strict and unvarying laws, from the 
conditions. 



PHILIP MASSINGER 29 

In A New Way to Pay Old Debts, the construction 
of the plot is not emphasized, the main object be- 
ing to exhibit the character of Sir Giles saliently. 
We find that we conceive and wish the union of 
Lord Lovell and Lady Allworth as the organizing 
idea, after learning that Tom Allworth and "fair 
Margaret" are not to be hero and heroine to us. 
The involving of the plot is likewise shadowy, Lady 
Allworth's change of feeling towards Wellborn be- 
ing used as the minor obstruction ; and with the 
establishing of this, the first act ends. The greater 
obstruction is Overreach's daughter, Margaret, 
who is not shown till the second act, and then as a 
probable rival to Lady Allworth. The typic con- 
struction would have introduced her in Act I, and 
have finished with her as an obstruction in scene 
ii of the present act. There is an ideal imaginative 
climax at the point (III. ii) where Lady Allworth 
bears away Lord Lovell. 

We note here the rudimentary suggestion of a 
second plot. This is after the manner of the time, 
as is seen in Shakespeare's Much Ado. In the 
latter play, the construction puts Claudio and Hero 
forward as hero and heroine, at the opening, and 
makes Benedict and Beatrice merely accessory to 
the plot. Later, when Beatrice, having become 
enamoured of Benedict, secures his promise to kill 
Claudio for Hero's sake, the construction shifts, 
and Benedict and Beatrice are made to exchange 
places with the fundamental figures. We see how 
inferior would have been the result if the author 
had tried to construct the play with Benedict and 
Beatrice as hero and heroine at the start. Here, 
Massinger does not succeed in making one pair of 



30 PHILIP MASSINGER 

lovers keep out of competition, for our interest, 
with the other. Yet the construction is essentially 
Elizabethan. 

In The Roman Actor, we come upon evidence 
of Massinger's classic reading, and some imitation 
of Seneca that might seem first-hand. There is a 
broad use of materials that suggests the ways of 
Jon son. The purpose in plays of this sort is to 
enact, with realizing details, some episode or chapter 
of classic history. It is plain that the dramatic 
motive here is to present in essence the romantic 
and spectacular career of the emperor Domitian. 
The audiences of the day liked to see the life of 
royalty represented on the stage. There is also the 
evident and novel purpose to commend or idealize 
the player's profession, which was especially despised 
in classical times, and in spite of certain popular 
figures like Alleyn and Burbage and Shakespeare, 
was held in no great honour in Massinger's genera- 
tion. 

With a double motive there is often a double 
plot, but this Massinger does not attempt to man- 
age. So the play opens with a situation that arouses 
interest, but hardly interest sufficient to last through 
the whole five acts. We merely wish that Paris 
and his fellows, who are in jeopardy, may be vindi- 
cated, and win appreciation from the Roman public. 
The plot is involved first with the ill-will of the 
senate, which is finished with at the end of scene iii. 
The greater obstruction can lie nowhere but in Domi- 
tian ; how he will regard Paris, and his companions, 
is doubtful. Paris, in his first paragraph of plead- 
ing, expresses the desire that Caesar sit as judge, 
and by the device of Parthenius and Paris, in the 



PHILIP MASSINGER 3 1 

first part of Act II, this is brought about. The play 
that Paris and ^Esopus present might well be made 
into a second scene. Were this done, the solution 
would be in accordance with the typical scheme. 

The third act begins with new forces and new 
action, but the first instalment of this, the plot 
devised between Stephanos and Julia, is not organic, 
and does not concern the consummation. The pas- 
sion of the empress for Paris, exhibited to us in the 
play of I phis and Anaxarete, furnishes the imagina- 
tive climax, and makes us divine the fate of both. 
The fourth act opens as a proper preparing time. 
Domitia seeks an assignation with her favourite, 
and Parthenius as well as Aretinus read their open 
secret. The plot moves too fast, if this is to be in 
reality a play of The Roman Actor. Caesar is ap- 
prized of the intrigue, even in the first scene. 

Scene ii, from the author's point of view, is ap- 
parently the crowning part of the whole play; in 
it he exalts Paris and the actor^ profession. Here 
might well have been the climax of the whole, at 
the point where Caesar surprises the guilty pair. 
The device of another play is clever, and furnishes a 
most telling dramatic turn. But the conclusion 
should hardly enact itself here ; else why have a 
fifth act at all ? But the last act is here in a sense 
organic, for it brings to the passion of Domitia, in- 
spired by the genius of Paris, its inevitable retribu- 
tion. In and through this, the last act becomes 
the tragedy of Domitian. 

The last of the four dramas to be considered, Believe 
as You List, is typically constructed. The first 
scene should furnish the antecedent circumstances 
of the action. Here we have these and more; we 



32 PHILIP MASSINGER 

conceive and desire the vindication of Don Sebastian, 
now turned Antiochus. The plot is at once involved, 
first, by the treachery of the three servants, who 
seek to obliterate all marks and claims of king- 
ship. This is the lesser obstruction, and is removed 
at the finding and identification of Antiochus, by 
the three merchants, at the end of Act I. The greater 
obstruction is Flaminius, who is baffled, in the second 
scene of Act II, by the senate of Carthage. The 
third act begins with new forces and new action ; 
Rome takes up the case. The imaginative climax 
is in the second scene. The element of the unex- 
pected is used unsparingly, and the play ends before 
its warring forces are brought to a proper equilibrium. 
On account of the passive nature of the theme, 
the work has unusual sameness of matter and move- 
ment, which might have been relieved by added epi- 
sodes. The play may well be conceived to suffer 
from drastic adjustment (p. 13) to another set of 
characters and another age. The work withal is 
strong, and moves with a directness unusual in Mas- 
singer. It illustrates the great cleverness of this 
author, who, without originality in materials or 
treatment, adapted the stage more nearly to pub- 
lic needs. Massinger brilliantly imitated and sup- 
plemented what other dramatists were doing, and 
enlarged the vogue of the theatre. Though he has 
left us no immortal lines, he contributed perhaps 
most, save Shakespeare, to nationalize the drama, 
and give fame and prestige to the playwright's art. 



THE ROMAN ACTOR 



THE ROMAN ACTOR 

The Roman Actor was licensed October n, 1626, and 
printed in quarto three years later. The materials of the plot 
were taken from the 'Domitianus' of Suetonius's Lives, and 
from Book LXVII of Dio Cassius. The author appears to 
have borrowed suggestions, for Domitia, from the character 
of Messalina, wife of Claudius, as drawn (Annals, xi) by 
Tacitus. 



34 



To my much honoured and most true Friends, 
SIR PHILIP KNYVET, Knight and Baronet, 
and to SIR THOMAS JEAY, Knight, 
and THOMAS BELLINGHAM, 

of Newtimber, in Sussex, Esquire. 

How much I acknowledge myself bound for your so many 
and extraordinary favours conferred upon me, as far as it is 
in my power, posterity shall take notice : I were most un- 
worthy of such noble friends, if I should not, with all thank- 
fulness, profess and own them. In the composition of this 
Tragedy you were my only supporters, and it being now by 
your principal encouragement to be turned into the world, 
it cannot walk safer than under your protection. It hath 
been happy in the suffrage of some learned and judicious 
gentlemen when it was presented, nor shall they find cause, 
I hope, in the perusal, to repent them of their good opinion 
of it. If the gravity and height of the subject distaste such 
as are only affected with jigs and ribaldry (as I presume it will), 
their condemnation of me and my poem can no way offend 
me : my reason teaching me, such malicious and ignorant 
detractors deserve rather contempt than satisfaction. I ever 
held it the most perfect birth of my Minerva ; and therefore 
in justice offer it to those that have best deserved of me ; 
who, I hope, in their courteous acceptance will render it 
worth their receiving, and ever, in their gentle construction 
of my imperfections, believe they may at their pleasure 
dispose of him, that is wholly and sincerely 

Devoted to their service, 

Philip Massinger. 



35 



DRAMATIS PERSON M 



Senators. 



Domitianus Cesar. 

Paris, the Roman Actor. 

JElixjs Lamia, 

Junius Rusticus, 

Palphurius Sura, 

Fulcinius, 

Parthenius, Cesar's Freedman. 

Aretinus Clemens, Cesar's Spy. 

Stephanos, Domitilla's Freedman. 

iEsopus, 



} Players. 
Latinus, ) 



Philargcjs, a rich Miser; Father of Parthenius. 

Ascletario, an Astrologer. 

Sejeius, 



i Conspirators. 
Entellus, ) 

Tribunes, Lictors, Centurions, Soldiers, Hangmen, Servants, 

Captives. 

Domitia, Wife of ^lius Lamia. 
Domitilla, Cousin-german to Caesar. 
Julia, Daughter of Titus. 
C .fa-is, Vespasian's Concubine. 
A Lady. 

Scene — Rome 



36 



THE ROMAN ACTOR 

ACT THE FIRST 

Scene I 

The Theatre 

Enter Paris, Latinus, and ^Esopus 

JEsop. What do we act to-day ? 

Lat. Agave's frenzy, 11 

With Pentheus' bloody end. 

Par. It skills not what ; 

The times are dull, and all that we receive 
Will hardly satisfy the day's expense. 
The Greeks, to whom we owe the first invention 
Both of the buskined scene n and humble sock, 
That reign in every noble family, 
Declaim against us ; and our amphitheatre, 
Great Pompey's work, n that hath given full delight 
Both to the eye and ear of fifty thousand 10 

Spectators in one day, as if it were 
Some unknown desert, or great Rome unpeopled, 
Is quite forsaken. 

Lat. Pleasures of worse natures 

Are gladly entertained; and they that shun us, 
Practise, in private, sports the stews would blush at. 
A litter borne by eight Liburnian slaves, 11 
To buy diseases from a glorious strumpet, 
The most censorious of our Roman gentry, 

n A superior n in the text indicates a note at the end of the volume. 
37 



38 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act i 

Nay, of the guarded robe, n the senators, 
Esteem an easy purchase. 

Par. Yet grudge us 20 

That with delight join profit, and endeavour 
To build their minds up fair, and on the stage 
Decipher to the life what honours wait 
On good and glorious actions, and the shame 
That treads upon the heels of vice, the salary 
Of six sestertii. 11 

ALsop. For the profit, Paris, 

And mercenary gain, they are things beneath us ; 
Since, while you hold your grace and power with Caesar, 
We, from your bounty, find a large supply, 
Nor can one thought of want ever approach us. 30 

Par. Our aim is glory, and to leave our names 
To aftertimes. 

Lat. And, w 7 ould they give us leave, 

There ends all our ambition. 

JEsop. We have enemies, 

And great ones, too, I fear. 'Tis given out lately, 
The consul Aretinus, Caesar's spy, 
Said at his table, ere a month expired, 
For being galled in our last comedy, 
He'd silence us for ever. 

Par. I expect 

No favour from him ; my strong Aventine n is, 
That great Domitian, whom we oft have cheered 40 

In his most sullen moods, will once return, 
Who can repair, with ease, the consul's ruins. 

Lat. 'Tis frequent in the city, he hath subdued 
The Catti and the Daci, n and, ere long, 
The second time will enter Rome in triumph. 

Enter two Lictors 

Par. Jove hasten it ! — With us ? — I now believe 
The consul's threats, /Esopus. 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 39 

1st Lid. You are summoned 

To appear to-day in Senate. 

2nd Lid. And there to answer 

What shall be urged against you. 

Par. We obey you. 49 

Nay, droop not, fellows; innocence should be bold. 
We, that have personated in the scene 
The ancient heroes, and the falls of princes, 
With loud applause, being to act ourselves, 
Must do it with undaunted confidence. 
Whatever our sentence be, think 'tis in sport ; 
And, though condemned, let's hear it without sorrow, 
As if we were to live again to-morrow. 

1st Lid. 'Tis spoken like yourself. 

Enter JEiavs Lamia, Junius Rusticus, and Palphurius 
Sura 

Lam. Whither goes Paris? 

1st. Lid. He's cited to the Senate. 

Lat. I am glad the state is 

So free from matters of more weight and trouble, 60 

That it has vacant time to look on us. 

Par. That reverend place, in which the affairs of kings 
And provinces were determined, to descend 
To the censure of a bitter word, or jest, 
Dropped from a poet's pen ! Peace to your lordships ! 
We are glad that you are safe. 

[Exeunt Lictors, Paris, Latinus, and ^Esopus. 

Lam. What times are these ! 

To what is Rome fallen ! May we, being alone, 
Speak our thoughts freely of the prince and state, 
And not fear the informer ? 

Rust. Noble Lamia, 

So dangerous the age is, and such bad acts 70 

Are practised everywhere, we hardly sleep, 
Nay, cannot dream with safety. All our actions 



40 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act i 

Are called in question. To be nobly born 

Is now a crime ; and to deserve too well, 

Held capital treason. Sons accuse their fathers, 

Fathers their sons ; and, but to win a smile 

From one in grace at court, our chastest matrons 

Make shipwreck of their honours. To be virtuous 

Is to be guilty. They are only safe 

That know to soothe the prince's appetite, 80 

And serve his lusts. 

Sura. 'Tis true ; and 'tis my wonder, 

That two sons of so different a nature 
Should spring from good Vespasian. We had a Titus, 
Styled justly "the Delight of all Mankind," n 
Who did esteem that day lost in his life 
In which some one or other tasted not 
Of his magnificent bounties ; one that had 
A ready tear, when he was forced to sign 
The death of an offender ; and so far 
From pride that he disdained not the converse 90 

Even of the poorest Roman. 

Lam. Yet his brother, 

Domitian, that now sways the power of things, 
Is so inclined to blood that no day passes 
In which some are not fastened to the hook," 
Or thrown down from the Gemonies. n His freedmen 
Scorn the nobility, and he himself, 
As if he were not made of flesh and blood, 
Forgets he is a man. 

Rust. In his young years, 

He showed what he would be when grown to ripeness. 
His greatest pleasure was, being a child, 100 

With a sharp-pointed bodkin to kill flies, 
Whose rooms now men supply. For his escape 
In the Vitellian war/ 1 he raised a temple 
To Jupiter, and proudly placed his figure 
\v ;od; and, in his edicts, 

II to style himself — 



scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 41 

As if the name of emperor were base — 
Great Lord and God Domitian. 

Sura. I have letters 

He's on his way to Rome, and purposes 
To enter with all glory. The flattering Senate no 

Decrees him divine honours ; and to cross it, 
Were death with studied torments. For my part, 
I will obey the time ; it is in vain 
To strive against the torrent. 

Rust. Let's to the Curia, n 

And, though unwillingly, give our suffrages, 
Before we are compelled. 

Lam. And since we cannot 

With safety use the active, let's make use of 
The passive fortitude, with this assurance, — 
That the state, sick in him, the gods to friend, 119 

Though at the worst, will now begin to mend. [Exeunt. 

Scene II 

A Room in Lamia's House 

Enter Domitia and Parthenius 

Dom. To me this reverence ! 

Parth. I pay it, lady, 

As a debt due to her that's Caesar's mistress ; 
For understand with joy, he that commands 
All that the sun gives warmth to is your servant. 
Be not amazed, but fit you to your fortunes. 
Think upon state and greatness, and the honours 
That wait upon Augusta, for that name 
Ere long comes to you : — still you doubt your vassal — 

[Presents a letter. 
But, when you've read this letter, writ and signed 
With his imperial hand, you will be freed 10 

From fear and jealousy ; and, I beseech you, 



42 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act i 

When all the beauties of the earth bow to you, 

And senators shall take it for an honour, 

As I do now, to kiss these happy feet ; [Kneels. 

When every smile you give is a preferment, 

And you dispose of provinces to your creatures, 

Think on Parthenius. 

Bom. Rise. I am transported, 

And hardly dare believe what is assured here. 
The means, my good Parthenius, that wrought Caesar, 
Our god on earth, to cast an eye of favour 20 

Upon his humble handmaid ? 

Parth. What but your beauty ? 

When Nature framed you for her masterpiece, 
As the pure abstract of all rare in woman, 
She had no other ends but to design you 
To the most eminent place. I will not say — 
For it would smell of arrogance, to insinuate 
The service I have done you — with what zeal 
I oft have made relation of your virtues, 
Or how I've sung your goodness, or how Caesar, 
Was fired with the relation of your story : 30 

I am rewarded in the act, and happy 
In that my project prospered. 

Dom. You are modest ; 

And, were it in my power, I would be thankful. 
If that, when I was mistress of myself, 
And, in my way of youth, n pure and untainted, 
The emperor had vouchsafed to seek my favours, 
I had with joy given up my virgin fort, 
At the first summons, to his soft embraces. 
But I am now another's, not mine own ; 
You know I have a husband. For my honour, 40 

I would not be his strump I and how law 
Can be dispensed with to become his wife, 
To me's a riddle. 

Parth. J can soon resolve it ; 

When powi ! puts i't his plea the laws are silenced. 



scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 43 

The world confesses one Rome, and one Caesar, 
And, as his rule is infinite, his pleasures 
Are unconfined. This syllable, his will, 
Stands for a thousand reasons. 

Dom. But with safety — 

Suppose I should consent — how can I do it ? 
My husband is a senator, of a temper 50 

Not to be jested with. 

Enter Lamia 

Parth. As if he durst 

Be Caesar's rival ! Here he comes ; with ease 
I will remove this scruple. 

Lam. [Aside.] How ! so private ! 

My own house made a brothel ! Sir, how durst you, 
Though guarded with your power in court, and greatness, 
Hold conference with my wife ? As for you, minion, 
I shall hereafter treat — 

Parth. You are rude and saucy 

Nor know to whom you speak. 

Lam. This is fine, i' faith ! 

Parth. Your wife ! But touch her, that respect for- 
gotten 
That's due to her whom mightiest Caesar favours, 60 

And think what 'tis to die. Not to lose time, 
She's Caesar's choice ; it is sufficient honour 
You were his taster in this heavenly nectar, 
But now must quit the office. 

Lam. This is rare ! 

Cannot a man be master of his wife, 
Because she's young and fair, without a patent ? 
I in mine own house am an emperor, 
And will defend what's mine. Where are my knaves? 
If such an insolence escape unpunished — 

Parth. In yourself, Lamia. Caesar hath forgot 70 

To use his power, and I, his instrument, 



44 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act i 

In whom, though absent, his authority speaks, 

Have lost my faculties ! [Stamps. 

Enter a Centurion with Soldiers 

Lam. The guard ! Why, am I 

Designed for death ? 

Dom. As you desire my favour, 

Take not so rough a course. 

Parth. All your desires 

Are absolute commands. Yet give me leave 
To put the will of Caesar into act. 
Here's a bill of divorce between your lordship 
And this great lady. If you refuse to sign it, 
And so as if you did it uncompelled, 80 

Won to't by reasons that concern yourself, 
Her honour too untainted, here are clerks 
Shall in your best blood write it new, till torture 
Compel you to perform it. , 

Lam. Is this legal ? 

Parth. Monarchs that dare not do unlawful things, 
Yet bear them out, are constables, not kings. 
Will you dispute ? 

Lam. I know not what to urge 

Against myself, but too much dotage on her, 
Love, and observance. 

Parth. Set it under your hand 

That you are impotent, and cannot pay 90 

The duties of a husband ; or that you are mad. 
Rather than want just cause, we'll make you so. 
Dispatch, you know the danger else ; deliver it, — 
Nay, on your knee. — Madam, you are now free, 
And mistress <•! yourself. 

I Aim. Can you, Domitia, 

Consent to th 

Pom. pie a base mind 

To live ;i command. 



scene in] THE ROMAN ACTOR 45 

I now am Caesar's ; and yet, in respect 
I once was yours, when you come to the palace, 
Provided you deserve it in your service, 100 

You shall find me your good mistress. — Wait me, Par- 

thenius. 
And now farewell, poor Lamia ! [Exeunt all but Lamia. 

Lam, To the gods 

I bend my knees — for tyranny hath banished 
Justice from men — and as they would deserve 
Their altars, and our vows, humbly invoke them, 
That this my ravished wife may prove as fatal 
To proud Domitian, and her embraces 
Afford him, in the end, as little joy, 
As wanton Helen brought to him of Troy. [Exit. 

Scene III 

The Curia or Senate-house 

Enter Lictors, Aretinus, Fulcinius, Rusticus, Sura, 
Paris, Latinus, and ^Esopus 

Aret. Fathers conscript, 11 may this our meeting be 
Happy to Caesar and the commonwealth ! 

Lict. Silence ! 

Aret. The purpose of this frequent Senate, 

Is, first, to give thanks to the gods of Rome, 
That, for the propagation of the empire, 
Vouchsafe us one to govern it, like themselves. 
In height of courage, depth of understanding, 
And all those virtues, and remarkable graces, 
Which make a prince most eminent, our Domitian 
Transcends the ancient Romans. I can never 10 

Bring his praise to a period. Whit good man 
That is a friend to truth, dares make it doubtful 
That he hath Fabius' staidness, and the con rage 
Of bold Marcellus, to whom Hannibal gave 



46 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act i 

The style of Target, and the Sword of Rome ? n 

But he has more, and every touch more Roman ; 

As Pompey's dignity, Augustus' state, 

Antony's bounty, and great Julius' fortune, 

With Cato's resolution. 11 I am lost 

In the ocean of his virtues ; in a word, 20 

All excellencies of good men in him meet, 

But no part of their vices. 

Rust. This is no flattery ! 

Sura. Take heed, you'll be observed. 
. Aret. 'Tis then most fit 

That we — as D to the father of our country, 
Like thankful sons, stand bound to pay true service 
For all those blessings that he showers upon us — 
Should not connive, and see his government 
Depraved and scandalized by meaner men, 
That to his favour and indulgence owe 
Themselves and being. 

Par. Now he points at us. 30 

Aret. Cite Paris, the tragedian. 

Par. Here. 

Aret. Stand forth. 

In thee, as being the chief of thy profession, 
I do accuse the quality n of treason, 
As libellers against the state and Caesar. 

Par. Mere accusations are not proofs, my lord : 
In what are we delinquents ? 

A ret. You are they 

That search into the secrets of the time, 
And, under feigned names, on the stage, present 
Actions not to be touched at ; and traduce 
Persons of rank and quality of both sexes, 40 

And, with satirical and bitter jests. 
Make even the senators ridiculous 
To the plebeians. 

Par. If \ free not, my 3lf, 

And, in m of my profession, 



scene m] THE ROMAN ACTOR 47 

From these false imputations, and prove 
That they make that a libel which the poet 
Writ for a comedy, so acted too, 
It is but justice that we undergo 
The heaviest censure. 

Aret. Are you on the stage, 

You talk so boldly ? 

Par. The whole world being one, 50 

This place is not exempted ; and I am 
So confident in the justice of our cause, 
That I could wish Caesar, in whose great name 
All kings are comprehended, sat as judge, 
To hear our plea, and then determine of us. 
If to express a man sold to his lusts, 
Wasting the treasure of his time and fortunes 
In wanton dalliance, and to what sad end 
A wretch that's so given over does arrive at ; 
Deterring careless youth, by his example, 60 

From such licentious courses ; laying open 
The snares of bawds, and the consuming arts 
Of prodigal strumpets, can deserve reproof ; 
Why are not all your golden principles, 
Writ down by grave philosophers to instruct us 
To choose fair virtue for our guide, not pleasure, 
Condemned unto the fire ? 

Sura. There's spirit in this. 

Par. Or if desire of honour was the base 
On which the building of the Roman empire 
Was raised up to this height ; if to inflame 70 

The noble youth with an ambitious heat 
To endure the frosts of danger, nay, of death, 
To be thought worthy the triumphal wreath 
By glorious undertakings, may deserve 
Reward or favour from the commonwealth; 
Actors may put in for as large a share 
As all the sects of the philosophers: 
They with cold precepts — perhaps seldom read — 



48 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act i 

Deliver what an honourable thing 

The active virtue is ; but does that fire 80 

The blood, or swell the veins with emulation, 

To be both good and great, equal to that 

Which is presented on our theatres ? 

Let a good actor, in a lofty scene, 

Show great Alcides 11 honoured in the sweat 

Of his twelve labours ; or a bold Camillus, n 

Forbidding Rome to be redeemed with gold 

From the insulting Gauls ; or Scipio, n 

After his victories, imposing tribute 

On conquered Carthage ; if done to the life, 90 

As if they saw r their dangers, and their glories, 

And did partake with them in their rewards, 

All that have any spark of Roman in them, 

The slothful arts laid by, contend to be 

Like those they see presented. 

Rust. He has put 

The consuls to their whisper. 

Par. But 'tis urged 

That we corrupt youth, and traduce superiors. 
When do we bring a vice upon the stage, 
That does go off unpunished ? Do we teach, 
By the success of wicked undertakings, 100 

Others to tread in their forbidden steps ? 
We show no arts of Lydian 11 panderism, 
Corinthian poisons, Persian flatteries, 
But mulcted so in the conclusion that 
Even those spectators that were so inclined 
Go home changed men. And, for traducing such 
That are above us, publishing to the world 
Their secret crimes, we are as innocent 
As such as are born dumb. When we present 
An hei 1 re against the life no 

Of hi- tit, numbering every hour 

He li\ ' ' him ; if there be, 

Amoi ne whose conscience tells him 



scene in] THE ROMAN ACTOR 49 

He is of the same mould, we cannot help it. 

Or, bringing on the stage a loose adulteress, 

That does maintain the riotous expense 

Of him that feeds her greedy lust, yet suffers 

The lawful pledges of a former bed 

To starve the while for hunger ; if a ^matron, 

However great in fortune, birth, or titles, 120 

Guilty of such a foul unnatural sin, 

Cry out, 'Tis writ by me, we cannot help it. 

Or, when a covetous man's expressed, whose wealth 

Arithmetic cannot number, and whose lordships 

A falcon in one day cannot fly over ; 

Yet he so sordid in his mind, so griping, 

As not to afford himself the necessaries 

To maintain life ; if a patrician — 

Though honoured with a consulship — find himself 

Touched to the quick in this, we cannot help it. 130 

Or, when we show a judge that is corrupt, 

And will give up his sentence as he favours 

The person, not the cause ; saving the guilty, 

If of his faction, and as oft condemning 

The innocent, out of particular spleen ; 

If any in this reverend assembly, 

Nay, e'en yourself, my lord, that are the image 

Of absent Caesar, feel something in your bosom, 

That puts you in remembrance of things past, 

Or things intended, 'tis not in us to help it. 14c 

I have said, my lord ; and now, as you find cause, 

Or censure us, or free us with applause. 

Lat. Well pleaded, on my life ! I never saw him 
Act an orator's part before. 

JEsop. We might have given 

Ten double fees to Regulus, and yet 
Our cause delivered worse. [A shout within. 



50 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act i 

Enter Parthenius 

Aret. What shout is that ? 

Parth. Caesar, our lord, married to conquest, is 
Returned in triumph. 

Ful. Let's all haste to meet him. 

Aret. Break up the court ; we will reserve to him 149 
The censure of this cause. 

AIL Long life to Caesar ! [Exeunt. 

Scene IV 

The Approach to the Capitol 
Enter Julia, Cenis, Domitilla, and Domitia 

Ccenis. Stand back — the place is mine. 

Jul. Yours ! Am I not 

Great Titus' daughter, and Domitian's niece ? 
Dares any claim precedence ? 

Ccenis. I was more, — 

The mistress of your father, and, in his right, 
Claim duty from you. 

Jul. I confess you were useful 

To please his appetite. 

Dom. To end the controversy, 

For I'll have no contending, I'll be bold 
To lead the way myself. 

Domitil. You, minion ! 

Dom. Yes ; 

And all, ere long, shall kneel to catch my favours. 9 

Jul. Whence springs this flood of greatness ? 

Dom. You shall know 

Too soon, for your vexation, ;m<: >erhaps 
Repent too late, and pine with ei vy, when 
You see 

Jul. Observe the sequel. 



scene iv] THE ROMAN ACTOR 5 1 

Enter Captains with laurels, Domitian in his triumphant 
chariot, Parthenius, Paris, Latinus, and ^Esopus, 
met by Aretinus, Sura, Lamia, Rusttcus, Fulci- 
nius, Soldiers and Captives 

Cces. As we now touch the height of human glory, 
Riding in triumph to the Capitol, 
Let these, whom this victorious arm hath made 
The scorn of fortune, and the slaves of Rome, 
Taste the extremes of misery. Bear them off 
To the common prisons, and there let them prove 
How sharp our axes are. 

[Exeunt Soldiers with Captives. 

Rust. [Aside.] A bloody entrance ! 20 

Cces. To tell you you are happy in your prince, 
Were to distrust your love, or my desert ; 
And either were distasteful ; or to boast 
How much, not by my deputies, but myself, 
I have enlarged the empire ; or what horrors 
The soldier, in our conduct, hath broke through, 
Would better suit the mouth of Plautus' braggart, 11 
1 Than the adored monarch of the world. 

Sura. [Aside.] This is no boast ! 

Cces. When I but name the Daci, n 

And grey-eyed Germans, whom I have subdued, 30 

The ghost of Julius will look pale with envy, 
And great Vespasian's and Titus' triumph — 
Truth must take place of father and of brother — 
Will be no more remembered. I am above 
' All honours you can give me ; and the style 
Of Lord and God, which thankful subjects give me, 
Not my ambition, is deserved. 

Aret. At all parts 

Celestial sacrifice is fit for Caesar, 
In our acknowledgment. 

Cces. Thanks, Aretinus ; 

Still hold our favour. Now, the god of war, 40 



52 THE ROMAN ACTOR [/:t i 

And famine, blood, and death, Bellona's n pages, 
Banished from Rome to Thrace, in our good fortune, 
With justice he may taste the fruits of peace 
Whose sword hath ploughed the ground, and reaped the 

harvest 
Of your prosperity. Nor can I think 
That there is one among you so ungrateful, 
Or such an enemy to thriving virtue, 
That can esteem the jewel he holds dearest 
Too good for Caesar's use. 

Sura. All we possess — 49 

Lam. Our liberties — 

Ful. Our children — 

Parth. Wealth — 

Aret. And throats, 

Fall willingly beneath his feet. 

Rust. [Aside.] Base flattery ! 

What Roman can endure this ! 

Ccbs. This calls on 

My love to all, which spreads itself among you. 
The beauties of the time ! [Seeing the ladies] Receive 

the honour 
To kiss the hand which, reared up thus, holds thunder ; 
To you 'tis an assurance of a calm. 
Julia, my niece, and Caehis, the delight 
Of old Vespasian ; Domitilla, too, 
A princess of our blood. 

Rust. 'Tis strange his pride 

Affords no greater courtesy to ladies 60 

Of such high birth and rank. 

Sura. Your wife's forgotten. 

Lam. No, she will be remembered, fear it not ; 
She will I 

Ccbs. Hut, when I look on 

Divine Domitia, methinks we should meet — 
The less* Lding the encounter — ■ 

As Jupit tg dead 



scene iv] THE ROMAN ACTOR 53 

On the Phlegraean plain, 11 embraced his Juno. 
Lamia, it is your honour that she's mine. 

Lam. You are too great to be gainsaid. 

Ccbs. Let all 

That fear our frown, or do affect our favour, 70 

Without examining the reason why, 
Salute her — by this kiss I make it good — 
With the title of Augusta. 

Bom. Still your servant. 

All. Long live Augusta, great Domitian's empress ! 

Ccbs. Paris, my hand. 

Par. [Kissing it.] The gods still honour Caesar ! 

Ccbs. The wars are ended, and, our arms laid by, 
We are for soft delights. Command the poets 
To use their choicest and most rare invention ^ 
To entertain the time, and be you careful 
To give it action. We'll provide the people 80 

Pleasures of all kinds. — My Domitia, think not 
I flatter, though thus fond. — On to the Capitol. 11 
'Tis death to him that wears a sullen brow. 
This 'tis to be a monarch, w T hen alone 
He can command all, but is awed by none. [Exeunt, 



ACT THE SECOND 

Scene I 

An Inner Court in the Palace 

Enter Philargus in rags, and Parthenius 

Phil. My son to tutor me ! Know your obedience, 
And question not my will. 

Parth. Sir, were I one 

Whom want compelled to wish a full possession 
Of what is yours ; or had I ever numbered 
Your years, or thought you lived too long, with reason 
You then might nourish ill opinions of me ; 
Or did the suit that I prefer to you 
Concern myself, and aimed not at your good, 
You might deny, and I sit down with patience, 
And after never press you. 

Phil. V the name of Pluto, i 

What wouldst thou have me do ? 

Path. Right to yourself ; 

Or suffer me to do it. Can you imagine 
This nasty hat, this tattered cloak, rent shoe. 
This sordid linen, can become the master 
Of your fair fortunes ? whose superfluous means, 
Though T were burthensomo, could clothe you in 
The costliesl Persian Bilks, studded with jewels, 
The sp< jry day 

Fresh change of Tynan pui 

Phil Out upon thee ! 

My m< my cofft to hear thee. 2c 

Purple I Hence, prod g hall I make my mercer 

54 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 55 

Or tailor my heir, or see my jeweller purchase ? 
No, I hate pride. 

Parth. Yet decency would do well. 

Though, for your outside, you will not be altered, 
Let me prevail so far yet, as to win you 
Not to deny your belly nourishment ; 
Neither to think you've feasted, when 'tis crammed 
With mouldy barley-bread, onions, and leeks, 
And the drink of bondmen, water. 

Phil. Wouldst thou have me 

Be an Apicius 11 or a Lucullus, 30 

And riot out my state in curious sauces ? 
Wise nature with a little is contented ; 
And, following her, my guide, I cannot err. 

Parth. But you destroy her in your want of care — 
I blush to see, and speak it — to maintain her 
In perfect health and vigour ; when you suffer — 
Frighted with the charge of physic — rheums, catarrhs, 
The scurf, ache in your bones, to grow upon you, 
And hasten on your fate w T ith too much sparing: 
When a cheap purge, a vomit, and a good diet, 40 

May lengthen it. Give melDut leave to send 
The emperor's doctor to you. 

Phil. I'll be borne first, 

Half-rotten, to the fire that must consume me ! 
His pills, his cordials, his electuaries, 11 
His syrups, juleps, bezoar stone, n nor his 
Imagined unicorn's horn, comes in my belly ; 
My mouth shall be a draught first, 'tis resolved. 
No ; I'll not lessen my dear golden heap, 
Which, every hour increasing, does renew 
My youth and vigour; but, if lessened, then, 50 

Then my poor heart-strings crack. Let me enjoy it, 
And brood o'er 't, while I live, it being my life, 
My soul, my all. But when I turn to dust, 
And part from what is more esteemed, by me, 
Than all the gods Rome's thousand altars smoke to, 



56 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act ii 

Inherit thou my adoration of it, 

And, like me, serve my idol. [Exit. 

Par tli. What a strange torture 

Is avarice to itself ! What man, that looks on 
Such a penurious spectacle, but must 
Know what the fable meant of Tantalus, 60 

Or the ass whose back is cracked with curious viands,/ 
Yet feeds on thistles ? Some course I must take, 
To make my father know what cruelty 
He uses on himself. 

Enter Paris 

Par. Sir, with your pardon, 

I make bold to inquire the emperor's pleasure ; 
For, being by him commanded to attend, 
Your favour may instruct us what's his will 
Shall be this night presented. 

Parth. My loved Paris, 

Without my intercession, you well know, 
You may make your own approaches, since his ear 70 
To you is ever open. 

Par. I acknowledge 

His clemency to my weakness, and, if ever 
I do abuse it, lightning strike me dead ! 
The grace he pleases to confer upon me - 
Without boast I may say so much — was never 
Employed to wrong the innocent, or to incense 
His fury. 

Parth. 'Tis confessed. Many men owe you 
For provinces they ne'er hoped for; and their lives, 
Forfeited to d You being absent, 

I could say more. 

Par. You still are my good patron; 80 

And, i deserve it, 

You 1 >rest of your clients 

To 1 ! I ul. 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 57 

Parth. I believe so. 

Met you my father ? 

Par. Yes, sir, with much grief, 

To see him as he is. Can nothing work him 
To be himself ? 

Parth. O Paris, 'tis a weight 

Sits heavy here ; and could this right hand's loss 
Remove it, it should off: but he is deaf 
To all persuasion. 

Par. Sir, with your pardon, 

I'll offer my advice. I once observed, 90 

In a tragedy of ours, in which a murder 
Was acted to the life, a guilty hearer, 
Forced by the terror of a wounded conscience, 
To make discovery of that which torture 
Could not wring from him. Nor can it appear 
Like an impossibility, but that 
Your father, looking on a covetous man 
Presented on the stage, as in a mirror, 
May see his own deformity, and loathe it. 
Now, could you but persuade the emperor 100 

To see a comedy we have, that's styled 
The Cure of Avarice, and to command 
Your father to be a spectator of it, 
He shall be so anatomized in the scene, 
And see himself so personated, the baseness 
Of a self-torturing miserable wretch 
Truly described, that I much hope the object 
Will work compunction in him. 

Parth. There's your fee ;• 

I ne'er bought better counsel.. Be you in readiness, 
I will effect the rest. 

Par. Sir, when you^fe^se ; no 

We'll be prepared to enter. — Sir, the emperor. [Exit. 



58 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act ii 

Enter Cesar, Aretinus, and Guard 

Cces. Repine at us ! 

Aret. Tis more, or my informers, 

That keep strict watch upon him, are deceived 
In their intelligence. There is a list 
Of malcontents, as Junius Rusticus, 
Palphurius Sura, and this ^Elius Lamia, 
That murmur at your triumphs, as mere pageants ; 
And, at their midnight meetings, tax your justice — 
For so I style what they call tyranny — 
For Paetus Thrasea's death, as if in him 120 

Virtue herself were murdered ; nor forget they 
Agricola, n who, for his service done 
In the reducing Britain to obedience, 
They dare affirm to be removed with poison ; 
And he compelled to write you a coheir 
With his daughter, that his testament might stand, 
Which else you had made void. Then your much 

love 
To Julia your niece, censured as incest, 
And done in scorn of Titus, your dead brother : 
But the divorce Lamia was forced to sign 130 

To her you honour with Augusta's title, 
Being only named, they do conclude there was 
A Lucrece once, a Collatine, and a Brutus ; 
But nothing Roman left now but, in you, 
The lust of Tarquin. 

Cces. Yes, his fire, and scorn 

Of such as think that our unlimited power 
Can be confined. Dares Lamia pretend 
Ar interest to thai :allmine; 

Or but remember a ( \er his, 

That's now in ti? Fetch him hither. 140 

[Exit Guard. 
I'll 1 to h he rather had 

For; .1 name than e'er mentioned hers. 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 59 

Shall we be circumscribed ? Let such as cannot 
By force make good their actions, though wicked, 
Conceal, excuse, or qualify their crimes ! 
What our desires grant leave and privilege to, 
Though contradicting all divine decrees, 
Or laws confirmed by Romulus and Numa, 
Shall be held sacred. 

Aret. You should else take from 

The dignity of Caesar. 

Cces. Am I master 150 

Of two and thirty legions, that awe 
All nations of the triumphed world, 
Yet tremble at our frown ! Yield an account 
Of what's our pleasure to a private man ! 
Rome perish first, and Atlas' shoulders shrink, 
Heaven's fabric fall — the sun, the moon, the stars 
Losing their light and comfortable heat — 
Ere I confess that any fault of mine 
May be disputed ! 

Aret. So you preserve your power, 

As you should, equal and omnipotent here 160 

With Jupiter's above. 

[Parthenius kneeling, whispers Caesar. 

Cces. Thy suit is granted, 

Whate'er it be, Parthenius, for thy service 
Done to Augusta. — Only so ? A trifle. 
Command him hither. If the comedy fail 
To cure him, I will minister something to him 
I That shall instruct him to forget his gold, 
And think upon himself. 

Parth. May it succeed well, 

Since my intents are pious ! 

Cces. We are resolved 

What course to take ; and, therefore, Aretinus, 
Inquire no further. Go you to my empress, 170 

And say I do entreat — for she rules him 
Whom all men else obey — she would vouchsafe 



60 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act ii 

The music of her voice at yonder window, 
When I advance my hand, thus. — I will blend 

[Exit Aretinus. 
My cruelty with some scorn, or else 'tis lost ; 
Revenge, when it is unexpected, falling 
With greater violence ; and hate clothed in smiles, 
Strikes, and with horror, dead the wretch that comes not 
Prepared to meet it. — 

Re-enter Guard with Lamia 

Our good Lamia, welcome. 
So much we owe you for a benefit, 180 

With willingness on your part conferred upon us, 
That 'tis our study, we that would not live 
Engaged to any for a courtesy, 
How to return it. 

Lam. 'Tis beneath your fate 

To be obliged, that in your own hand grasp 
The means to be magnificent. 

Cces. Well put off ; 

But yet it must not do. The empire, Lamia, 
Divided equally, can hold no weight, 
If balanced with your gift in fair Domitia — 
You, that could part with all delights at once, 190 

The magazine of rich pleasures being contained 
In her perfections, — uncompelled, delivered 
As a present fit for Caesar. In your eyes, 
With tears of joy, not sorrow, 'tis confirmed 
You glory in your act. 

Lam. Derided too ! 

Sir, this is more — 

Cces. More than I can requite ; 

It is acknowledged, Lamia. There's no drop 
Of melting nectar I taste from her lip, 
Hut yields a touch of immortality 
To the blest receiver; every grace and feature, 200 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 6 1 

Prized to the worth, bought at an easy rate, 
If purchased for a consulship. Her discourse 
So ravishing, and her action so attractive, 
That I would part with all my other senses, 
Provided I might ever see and hear her. 
The pleasures of her bed I dare not trust 
The winds or air with ; for that would draw down, 
In envy of my happiness, a war 
From all the gods, upon me. 

Lam. Your compassion 

To me, in your forbearing to insult 210 

On my calamity, which you make your sport, 
Would more appease those gods you have provoked 
Than all the blasphemous comparisons 
You sing unto her praise. 

Domitia appears at the window 

Ccbs. I sing her praise ! 

'Tis far from my ambition to hope it ; 
It being a debt she only can lay down, 
And no tongue else discharge. 

[He raises his hand. Music above. 
Hark ! I think, prompted 
With my consent that you once more should hear her, 
She does begin. An universal silence 219 

Dwell on this place ! 'Tis death, with lingering torments, 
To all that dare disturb her. — [A song by Domitia. 

Who can hear this, 
And falls not down and worships ? In my fancy, 
Apollo being judge, on Latmos' hil 
Fair-haired Calliope, 11 on her ivory lute — 
But something short of this — sung Ceres' praises, 
And grisly Pluto's rape on Proserpine. 
The motion of the spheres are out of time, 
Her musical notes but heard. Say, Lamia, say, 
Is not her voice angelical ? 



62 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act ii 

Lam. To your ear ; 

But I, alas ! am silent. 

Cces. Be so ever, 230 

That without admiration canst hear her ! 
Malice to my felicity strikes thee dumb, 
And, in thy hope, or wish, to repossess 
What I love more than empire, I pronounce thee 
Guilty of treason. — Off with his head ! Do you stare ? 
By her that is my patroness, Minerva, 
Whose statue I adore of all the gods, 
If he but live to make reply, thy life 
Shall answer it ! -• 

[The Guard leads of Lamia, stopping his mouth. 
My fears of him are freed now ; 
And he that lived to upbraid me with my wrong, 240 
For an offence he never could imagine, 
In wantonness removed. — Descend, my dearest ; 
Plurality of husbands shall no more 
Breed doubts or jealousies in you : [Exit Domitia above.] 

'tis dispatched, 
And with as little trouble here, as if 
I had killed a fly. 

Enter Domitia, ushered in by Aretinus, her train with 
all state borne up by Julia, C^nis, and Domitilla 

Now you appear, and in 
That glory you deserve ! and these, that stoop 
To do you service, in the act much honoured ! 
Julia, forget that Titus was thy father ; 
Caenis, and Domitilla, ne'er remember 
Sabinus n or Vespasian. To be slaves 
To her is more true liberty than to live 
Parthian or Asian queens. As lesser stars, 
That wait on Phoebe n in her full of brightness, 
Compared to her, you are. Thus I seat you 
By Caesar's side, commanding these, that once 



250, 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 63 

Were the adored glories of the time, 

To witness to the world they are your vassals, 

At your feet to attend you. 

Bom. 'Tis your pleasure, 

And not my pride. And yet, when I consider 260 

That I am yours, all duties they can pay 
I do receive as circumstances due 
To her you please to honour. 

Re-enter Parthenius with Philargus 

Parth. Caesar's will 

Commands you hither, nor must you gainsay it. 

Phil. Lose time to see an interlude ! Must I pay too 
For my vexation ? 

Parth. Not in the court ; 

It is the emperor's charge. 

Phil. I shall endure 

My torment then the better. 

Cces. Can it be 

This sordid thing, Parthenius, is thy father? 
No actor can express him. I had held 270 

The fiction for impossible in the scene, 
Had I not seen the substance. — Sirrah, sit still, 
And give attention ; if you but nod, 
You sleep for ever. — Let them spare the prologue, 
And all the ceremonies proper to ourself , 
And come to the last act — there where the cure 
By the doctor is made perfect. The swift minutes 
Seem years to me, Domitia, that divorce thee 
From my embraces ; my desires increasing 
As they are satisfied, all pleasures else 280 

Are tedious as dull sorrows. Kiss me ; — again. 
If I now wanted heat of youth, these fires, 
In Priam's veins, would thaw his frozen blood, 
Enabling him to get a second Hector 
For the defence of Troy. 



6 4 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act ii 

j) om . You are wanton ! 

Pray you, forbear. Let me see the play. 

Cces. Begin there. 

Enter Paris, like a doctor of physic, and ^Esopus ; La- 
tinus is brought forth asleep in a chair, a key in his 
mouth 

Msop. O master doctor, he is past recovery ; 
A lethargy hath seized him ; and, however 
His sleep resembles death, his watchful care 

To guard that treasure he dares make no use of, 290 

Works strongly in his soul. 

p ar . What's that he holds 

So fast between his teeth ? 

Msop. The key that opens 

His iron < hests, crammed with accursed gold, 
Rusty with long imprisonment. There's no duty 
In me, his son, nor confidence in friends, 
That can persuade him to deliver up 
That to the trust of any. 

Phil. He is the wiser ; 

We were fashioned in one mould. 

Msop. He eats with {t ; 

And when devotion calls him to the temple 

Of Mammon, 11 whom, of all the gods, he kneels to, 300 

Thai held thus still, his orisons are paid : 
Nor will he, though the wealth of Rome were pawned 
For the restoring oft, for one short hour 
Be won to part with it. 

Phil. Still, still myself ! 

And if like me he love his gold, no pawn 
Is good security. 

p flr . I'll try if I can force it — 

It will not be. His avaricious mind, 
Like men in rivers drowned, makes him gripe fast 
To his hist gasp, what he in life held dearest ; 

And, if that it were* possible in nature, 3*° 

Would carry it with him to the other world. 

Phil. As 1 would do to hell, rather than leave it. 




scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 65 

Msop. Is he not dead ? 

Par. Long since to all good actions, 

Or to himself or others, for which wise men 
Desire to live. You may with safety pinch him, 
Or under his nails stick needles, yet he stirs not ; 
Anxious fear to lose what his soul dotes on, 
Renders his flesh insensible. We must use 
Some means to rouse the sleeping faculties 

Of his mind ; there lies the lethargy. Take a trumpet, 320 

And blow it into his ears ; 'tis to no purpose ; 
The roaring noise of thunder cannot wake him : — ■ 
And yet despair not ; I have one trick left yet. 

Msop. What is it ? 

Par. I will cause a fearful dream 

To steal into his fancy, and disturb it 
With the horror it brings with it, and so free 
His body's organs. 

Dom. 'Tis a cunning fellow ; 

If he were indeed a doctor, as the play says, 
He should be sworn my servant ; govern my slumbers, 
And minister to me waking. [A chest brought in. 

Par. If this fail, 330 

I'll give him o'er. So ; with all violence 
Rend ope this iron chest, for here his life lies 
Bound up in fetters, and in the defence 
Of what he values higher, 'twill return, 
And fill each vein and arter}^ — Louder yet ! 
— 'Tis open, and already he begins 
To stir ; mark with what trouble. 

[Latinus stretches himself. 

Phil. As you are Caesar, 

Defend this honest, thirfty man ! they are thieves, 
And come to rob him. 

Parth. Peace ! The emperor frowns. 

Par. So ; now pour out the bags upon the table ; 340 

Remove his jewels, and his bonds. — Again, 
Ring a second golden peal His eyes are open ; 
He stares as he had seen Medusa's head, 
And were turned marble. — Once more. 

Lat. Murder ! murder ! 

i Thieves ! . murder ! murder ! My son in the plot ? 



66 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act ii 

Thou worse than parricide ! If it be death 

To strike thy father's body, can all tortures 

The Furies in hell practise be sufficient 

For thee, that dost assassinate my soul? — 

My gold ! my bonds ! my jewels ! Dost thou envy 350 

My glad possession of them for a day ; 

Extinguishing the taper of my life 

Consumed unto the snuff? 

Par. Seem not to mind him. 

Lat. Have I, to leave thee rich, denied myself 
The joys of human being ; scraped and hoarded 
A mass of treasure, which had Solon n seen, 
The Lydian Crcesus had appeared to him 
Poor as the beggar Irus ? n And yet I, 
Solicitous to increase it, when my entrails 

Were clemmed with keeping a perpetual fast, 360 

Was deaf to their loud windy cries, as fearing, 
Should I disburse one penny to their use, 
My heir might curse me. And, to save expense 
In outward ornaments, I did expose 
My naked body to the winter's cold, 
And summer's scorching heat : nay, when diseases 
Grew thick upon me, and a little cost 
Had purchased my recovery, I chose rather 
To have my ashes closed up in my urn, 

By hasting on my fate, than to diminish 370 

The gold my prodigal son, while I am living, 
Carelessly scatters. 

Msop. Would you'd dispatch and die once ! 

Your ghost should feel in hell, that is my slave 
Which was your master. 

Phil. Out upon thee, varlet ! 

Par. And what then follows all your cark and caring, 
And self-affliction? When your starved trunk is 
Turned to forgotten dust, this hopeful youth 
Urines upon your monument, ne'er remembering 
How much for him you suffered ; and then tells, 
To the companions of his lusts and riols, 380 

The hell you did endure on earth, to leave him 
Large means to be an epicure, and to feast 
His senses all at once, a happiness 
You never granted to yourself. Your gold, then, 
Got with vexation, and preserved with trouble, 
Maintains the public stews, panders, and ruffians, 






I 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 67 

That quaff damnations to your memory, 
For living so long here. 

Lat. 'Twill be so ; I see it — 

Oh, that I could redeem the time that's past ! 
I would live and die like myself ; and make true use 390 

Of what my industry purchased. 

Par. Covetous men, 

Having one foot in the grave, lament so ever : 
But grant that I by art could yet recover 
Your desperate sickness, lengthen out your life 
A dozen of years ; as I restore your body 
To perfect health, will you with care endeavour 
To rectify your mind ? 

Lat. I should so live then, 

As neither my heir should have just cause to think 
I lived too long, for being close-handed to him, 
Or cruel to myself. 

Par. Have your desires. 400 

Phoebus assisting me, I will repair 
The ruined building of your health ; and think not 
You have a son that hates you ; the truth is, 
This means, with his consent, I practised on you 
To this good end : it being a device, 
In you to show the Cure of Avarice. 

[Exeunt Paris, Latinus, and ^Esopus. 

Phil. An old fool, to be gulled thus ! Had he died • 
As I resolve to do, not to be altered, 
It had gone. off twanging. 

Cces. How approve you, sweetest, 

Of the matter, and the actors ? 

Dom. For the subject, 410 

I like it not ; it w T as filched out of Horace. 11 
— Nay, I have read the poets. But the fellow 
That played the doctor did it well, by Venus ! 
He had a tuneable tongue and neat delivery : 
And yet, in my opinion, he would perform 
A lovers part much better. Prithee, Caesar, 
For I grow weary, let us see, to-morrow, 
I phis and Anaxarete. 

Cces. Anything 

For thy delight, Domitia ; to your rest, 



68 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act ii 

Till I come to disquiet you. Wait upon her. 42 o 

There is a business that I must dispatch, 
And I will straight be with you. 

[Exeunt Aret., Dom., Julia, C^enis, and Domitilla. 

Parth. Now, my dread sir, 

Endeavour to prevail. 

Cces. One way or other 

We'll cure him, never doubt it. Now, Philargus, 
Thou wretched thing, hast thou seen thy sordid baseness, 
And but observed what a contemptible creature 
A covetous miser is ? Dost thou in thyself 
Feel true compunction, with a resolution 
To be a new man ? 

Phil. This crazed body's Caesar's ; 

But for my mind — 

Cces. Trifle not with my anger. 430 

Canst thou make good use of what was now presented, 
And imitate, in thy sudden change of life, 
The miserable rich man that expressed 
What thou art to the life ? 

Phil. Pray you, give me leave 

To die as I have lived. I must not part with 
My gold ; it is my life : I am past cure. 

Cces. No ; by Minerva, thou shalt never more 
Feel the least touch of avarice. Take h ; m hence, 
And hang him instantly. If there be gold in hell, 
Enjoy it : — thine here, and thy life together, 44 o 

Is forfeited. 

Phil. Was I sent for to this purpose ? 

Parth. Mercy for all my service ; Caesar, mercy ! 

Cces. Should Jove plead for him, 'tis resolved he dies, 
And he that speaks one syllable to dissuade me ; 
And therefore tempt me not. It is but justice : 
Since such as wilfully will hourly die, 
Must tax themselves, and not my cruelty. [Exeunt. 



ACT THE THIRD 

Scene I 

A Room in the Palace 

Enter Julia, Domitilla, and Stephanos 

Jul. No, Domitilla ; if you but compare 
What I have suffered with your injuries — 
Though great ones, I confess — they will appear 
Like mole-hills to Olympus. 

Domitil. You are tender 

Of your own wounds, which makes you lose the feeling 
And sense of mine. The incest he committed 
With you, and publicly professed, in scorn 
Of what the world durst censure, may admit 
Some weak defence, as being borne headlong to it, 
But in a manly way, to enjoy your beauties. ic 

Besides, won by his perjuries that he would 
Salute you with the title of Augusta, 
Your faint denial showed a full consent 
And grant to his temptations. But poor I, 
That would not yield, but was with violence forced 
To serve his lusts, and in a kind Tiberius 
At Capreae never practised, have not here 
One conscious touch to rise up my accuser, 
I, in my will, being innocent. 

Steph. Pardon me, 

Great princesses, though I presume to tell you, 20 

Wasting your time in childish lamentations, 
You do degenerate from the blood you spring from ; 
For there is something more in Rome expected 

69 



70 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act hi 

From Titus' daughter, and his uncle's heir, 

Than womanish complaints, after such wrongs 

Which mercy cannot pardon. But, you'll say, 

Your hands are weak, and should you but attempt 

A just revenge on this inhuman monster, 

This prodigy of mankind, bloody Domitian 

Hath ready swords at his command, as well • 3 o 

As islands to confine you, to remove 

His doubts and fears, did he but entertain 

The least suspicion you contrived or plotted 

Against his person. 

Jul. 'Tis true, Stephanos ; 

The legions that sacked Jerusalem, 
Under my father Titus, are sworn his, 
And I no more remembered. 

Domitil. And to lose 

Ourselves by building on impossible hopes, 
Were desperate madness. 

Steph. You conclude too fast. 

One single arm, whose master does contemn 40 

His own life, holds a full command o'er his, 
Spite of his guards. I was your bondman, lady, 
And you my gracious patroness ; my wealth 
And liberty your gift ; and, though no soldier, 
To whom or custom, or example makes 
Grim death appear less terrible, I dare die 
To do you service in a fair revenge ; 
And it will better suit your births and honours 
To fall at once than to live ever slaves 
To his proud empress, that insults upon 50 

Your patient sufferings. Say but you, "Go on !" 
And I will reach his heart, or perish in 
The noble undertaking. 

Domilil. Your free offer 

Confirms your thankfulness, which I acknowledge 
A satisfaction for a greater debt 
Than what, yon stand engaged for; but I must not, 



I 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 71 



Upon uncertain grounds, hazard so grateful 

And good a servant. The immortal Powers 

Protect a prince, though sold to impious acts, 

And seem to slumber, till his roaring crimes 60 

Awake their justice ; but then, looking down, 

And with impartial eyes, on his contempt 

Of all religion and moral goodness, 

They, in their secret judgements, do determine 

To leave him to his wickedness, which sinks him 

When he is most secure. , 

[ Jul. His cruelty 

Increasing daily, of necessity 

Must render him as odious to his soldiers, 

Familiar friends, and freedmen, as it hath done 

Already to the Senate : then, forsaken 7 o> 

Of his supporters, and grown terrible 

Even to himself, and her he now so dotes on, 

We may put into act what now with safety 

We cannot whisper. 

Steph. I am still prepared 

To execute, w T hen you please to command me : 
Since I am confident he deserves much more 
That vindicates his country from a tyranny 
Than he that saves a citizen. 

Enter Cenis 

Jul. O, here's Caenis. 

Domitil. Whence come you ? 

Ccenis. From the empress, who seems moved 

In that you wait no better. Her pride's grown 80 

To such a height that she disdains the service 
Of her own women, and esteems herself 
Neglected when the princesses of the blood, 
On every coarse employment, are not ready 
To stoop to her commands. 

Domitil. Where is her Greatness ? 



72 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act hi 

Ccenis. Where you would little think she could descend 
To grace the room or persons. 

Jul. Speak, where is she ? 

Ccenis. Among the players : where, all state laid by, 
She does inquire who plays this part, who that, 
And in what habits ; blames the tirewomen 90 

For want of curious dressings ; and, so taken 
She is with Paris the tragedian's shape, 
That is to act a lover, I thought once 
She would have courted him. 

Domitil. In the mean time 

How spends the emperor his hours ? 

Ccenis. As ever 

He hath done heretofore ; in being cruel 
To innocent men, whose virtues he calls crimes. 
And, but this morning, if't be possible, 
He hath outgone himself, having condemned, 
At Aretinus his informer's suit, 
Palphurius Sura and good Junius Rusticus, 
Men of best repute in Rome for their 
Integrity of life ; no fault objected, 
But that they did lament his cruel sentence 
On Paetus Thrasea, the philosopher, 
Their patron and instructor. 

Steph. Can Jove see this, 

And hold his thunder ! 

Domitil. Nero and Caligula 

Commanded only mischiefs ; but our Caesar 
Delights to see them. 

Jul. What we cannot help, 

We may deplore with silence. 

Ccenis. We are called for no 

By our proud mistress. 

Domitil. We awhile must suffer. 

Steph. It is true fortitude to stand firm against 
All shocks of fate, when cowards faint and die 
In fear to suffer more calamity. [Exeunt. 



scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 73 

Scene II 

Another Room in the same 

Enter Cesar and Parthenius 

Cces. They are then in fetters ? 

Parth. Yes, sir, but — 

Cces. . But what ? 

I'll have thy thoughts ; deliver them. 

Parth. I shall, sir ; 

But still submitting to your god-like pleasure, 
Which cannot be instructed — 

Cces. To the point. 

Parth. Nor let your sacred majesty believe 
Your vassal that with dry eyes looked upon 
His father dragged to death by your command, 
Can pity these, that durst presume to censure 
What you decreed. 

Cces. Well ; forward. 

Parth. 'Tis my zeal 

Still to preserve your clemency admired, 10 

Tempered with justice, that emboldens me 
To offer my advice. Alas ! I know, sir, 
These bookmen, Rusticus and Palphurius Sura, 
Deserve all tortures; yet, in my opinion, 
They being popular senators, and cried up 
With loud applauses of the multitude, 
For foolish honesty, and beggarly virtue, 
'Twould relish more of policy, to have them 
Made away in private, with what exquisite torments 
You please, — it skills not, — than to have them drawn 
To the Degrees 11 in public ; for 'tis doubted 21 

That the sad object may beget compassion 
In the giddy rout, and cause some sudden uproar 
That may disturb you. 

Cces. Hence, pale-spirited coward ! 



74 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act hi 

Can we descend so far beneath ourself, - 

As or to court the people's love, or fear 

Their worst of hate ? Can they, that are as dust 

Before the whirlwind of our will and power, 

Add any moment to us ? or thou think, 

If there are gods above, or goddesses, 30 

But wise Minerva, that's mine own, and sure, 

That they have vacant hours to take into 

Their serious protection, or care, 

This many-headed monster ? Mankind lives 

In few, as potent monarchs and their peers ; 

And all those glorious constellations 

That do adorn the firmament, appointed, 

Like grooms, with their bright influence to attend 

The actions of kings and emperors, 

They being the greater wheels that move the less. 40 

Bring forth those condemned wretches; — [Exit Parthe- 

nius.] — let me see 
One man so lost as but to pity them, 
And, though there lay a million of souls 
Imprisoned in his flesh, my hangmen's hooks 
Should rend it off and give them liberty. 
Caesar hath said it. 



Re-enter Parthenius, with Aretinus, and Guard ; Hang- 
men dragging in Junius Rusticus and Palphurius 
Sura, bound back to back 

Aret. 'Tis great Caesar's pleasure, 

That with fixed eyes you carefully observe 
The people's looks. Charge upon any man 
That with a sigh or murmur does express 
A seeming sorrow for these traitors' deaths. 50 

You know his will, perform it. 

C(BS. A good bloodhound, 

And fit for my employments. 



scene ii] THE ROMAN ACTOR 75 

Sura. Give us leave 

To die, fell tyrant. 

Rust. For, beyond our bodies, 

Thou hast no power. 

Cas. Yes ; 111 afflict your souls, 

And force them groaning to the Stygian lake, n 
Prepared for such to howl in, that blaspheme 
The power of princes, that are gods on earth. 
Tremble to think how terrible the dream is 
After this sleep of death. 11 

Rust. To guilty men 

It may bring terror ; not to us that know 60 

What 'tis to die, well taught by his example 
For whom we suffer. In my thought I see 
The substance of that pure untainted soul 
Of Thrasea, our master, made a star, 
That with melodious harmony invites us — 
Leaving this dunghill Rome, made hell by thee — 
To trace his heavenly steps, and fill a sphere 
Above yon crystal canopy. 

Cces. Do, invoke him 

With all the aids his sanctity of life 
Have won on the rewarders of his virtue ; 70 

They shall not save you. — Dogs, do you grin ? Tor- 
ment them. 

[The Hangmen torment them, they still smiling. 
So, take a leaf of Seneca now, n and prove 
If it can render you insensible 
Of that which but begins here. Now an oil, 
Drawn from the Stoic's frozen principles, 
Predominant over fire, were useful for you. 
Again, again. You trifle. Not a groan ! — 
Is my rage lost ? What cursed charms defend them ! 
Search deeper, villains. Who looks pale, or thinks 
That I am cruel ? 

Aret. Over-merciful : 80 

'Tis all your weakness, sir. 



y6 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act hi 

Parth. [Aside.] I dare not show 

A sign of sorrow ; yet my sinews shrink, 
The spectacle is so horrid. 

Cess. I was never 

O'ercome till now. For my sake roar a little, 
And show you are corporeal, and not turned 
Aerial spirits. — Will it not do ? By Pallas, 
It is unkindly done to mock his fury 
Whom the world styles Omnipotent ! I am tortured 
In their want of feeling torments. Marius' story, n 
That does report him to have sat unmoved, 90 

When cunning chirurgeons ripped his arteries 
And veins, to cure his gout, compared to this, 
Deserves not to be named. Are they not dead ? 
If so, we wash an ^Ethiop. 

Sura. No ; we live. 

Rust. Live to deride thee, our calm patience treading 
Upon the neck of tyranny. That securely, 
As 'twere a gentle slumber, we endure 
Thy hangmen's studied tortures, is a debt 
We owe to grave philosophy, that instructs us 
The flesh is but the clothing of the soul, 100 

Which growing out of fashion, though it be 
Cast off, or rent, or torn, like ours, 'tis then, 
Being itself divine, in her best lustre. 
But unto such as thou, that have no hopes 
Beyond the present, every little scar, 
The want of rest, excess of heat or cold, 
That does inform them only they are mortal, 
Pierce through and through them. 

Cces. We will hear no more. 

Rust. This only, and I give thee warning of it: 
Though it is in thy will to grind this earth no 

As small as atoms, they thrown in the sea too, 
They shall seem re-collected to thy sense; 
And, when the sandy building of thy greatness 
Shall with its own weight totter, look to see me 



scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 77 

As I was yesterday, in my perfect shape ; 
For I'll appear in horror. 

Ccbs. By my shaking 

I am the guilty man. and not the judge. 
Drag from my sight these cursed ominous wizards, 
That, as they are now, like to double-faced Janus, 
Which way soe'er I look, are Furies to me. 120 

Away with them ! First show them death, then leave 
No memory of their ashes. I'll mock fate. 

[Exeunt Hangmen with Rusticus and Sura. 
Shall words fright him victorious armies circle ? 
No, no ; the fever doth begin to leave me ; 

Enter Domitia, Julia, and C^nis ; Stephanos following 

Or, were it deadly, from this living fountain 
I could renew the vigour of my youth, 
And be a second Virbius. n O my glory ! 
My life ! command ! my all ! 

Dom. As you to me are. 

[Embracing and kissing mutually. 
I heard you were sad ; I have prepared you sport 
Will banish melancholy. Sirrah, Caesar — 130 

I hug myself for't — I have been instructing 
The players how to act ; and to cut off 
All tedious impertinency, have contracted 
The tragedy into one continued scene. 
I have the art oft, and am taken more 
With my ability that way, than all knowledge 
I have but of thy love. 

Cces. Thou art still thyself, 

The sweetest, wittiest — 

Dom. When we are a-bed 

I'll thank your good opinion. Thou shalt see 
Such an Iphis n of thy Paris ! — and, to humble 140 

The pride of Domitilla, that neglects me — 
Howe'er she is your cousin — I have forced her 



/8 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act in 

To play the part of Anaxarete — 
You are not offended with it ? 

Cces. Any thing 

That does content thee yields delight to me : 
My faculties and powers are thine. 

Dow. I thank you: 

Prithee let's take our places. Bid them enter 
Without more circumstance. 

After a short flourish, enter Paris as Iphis 

How do you like 
That shape ? Methinks it is most suitable 
To the aspect of a despairing lover. 150 

The seeming late-fallen, counterfeited tears 
That hang upon his cheeks, was my device. 

Cces. And all was excellent. 

Dom. Now hear him speak. 

Iphis. That she is fair — and that an epithet 
Too foul to express her — or descended nobly, 
Or rich, or fortunate, are certain truths 
In which poor Iphis glories. But that these 
Perfections, in no other virgin found, 
Abused, should nourish cruelty and pride 

In the divinest Anaxarete, 160 

Is, to my love-sick, languishing soul, a riddle; 
And with more difficulty to be dissolved 
Than that the monster Sphinx, 11 from the steepy rock, 
Offered to CEdipus. Imperious Love, 

As at thy ever-flaming altars [phis, 

Thy never-tired votary, hath presented, 
With scalding tears, whole hecatombs of sighs, 

Preferring thy power, and thy Paphian mother's, 
Before the Thunderer's, Neptune's, or Pluto's 

Thai, after Saturn, did divide the world, 170 

And had the sway of things, yet were compelled 

hy inevitable shafts to yield, 
And tight under thy ensigns - be auspicious 
To this last trial of my sacrifice 

( )f love and service ! 






scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 79 

Dom. Does he not act it rarely ? 

Observe with what a feeling he delivers 
His orisons to Cupid. I am rapt with't. 

Iphis. And from thy never-emptied quiver take 
A golden arrow, to transfix her heart, 

And force her love like me ; or cure my wound 180 

With a leaden one, that may beget in me 
Hate and forge tfulness of what's now my idol — • 
But I call back my prayer ; I have blasphemed 
In my rash wish. 'Tis I that am unworthy ; 
But she all merit, and may in justice challenge, 
From the assurance of her excellencies, 
Not love but adoration. Yet, bear witness, 
All-knowing Powers ! I bring along with me, 
As faithful advocates to make intercession, 

A loyal heart with pure and holy flames, 190 

With the foul fires of lust never polluted. 
And, as I touch her threshold, which with tears, 
My limbs benumbed with cold, I oft have washed, 
With my glad lips I kiss this earth, grown proud 
With frequent favours from her delicate feet. 

Dom. By Caesar's life he weeps ! and I forbear 
Hardly to keep him company. 

Iphis. Blest ground, thy pardon, 

If I profane it with forbidden steps. 
I must presume to knock — and yet attempt it 
With such a trembling reverence, as if 200 

My hands were now held up for expiation 
To the incensed gods to spare a kingdom. 
Within there, ho ! Something divine come forth 
To a distressed mortal. 

Enter Latinus as a Porter 

Port. Ha ! Who knocks there ? 

Dom. What a churlish look this knave has S 

Port. Is't you, sirrah? 

Are you come to pule and whine ? Avaunt, and quickly. 
Dog-whips shall drive you hence else. 



So THE ROMAN ACTOR 



[act 



Dom - Churlish devil ! 

But that I should disturb the scene, as I live 
I would tear his eyes out. 

^ m - Tis in jest, Domitia. 

Dom. I do not like such jesting. If he were not 2 ic 
A flinty-hearted slave, he could not use 
One of his form so harshly. Plow the toad swells 
At the other's sweet humility ! 

^ (ES - 'Tis his part : 

Let them proceed. 

Dom - A rogue's part will ne'er leave him. 

I phis. As you have, gentle sir, the happiness, 
When you please, to behold the figure of 
The masterpiece of nature, limned to the life, 
In more than human Anaxarete, 
Scorn not your servant, that with suppliant hands 
Takes hold upon your knees, conjuring you, 220 

As you are a man, and did not suck the milk 
Of wolves and tigers, or a mother of 
A tougher temper, use some means these eyes, 
Before they are wept out, may see your lady. 
Will you be gracious, sir? 

ForL Though I lose my place for't, 

I can hold out no longer. 

Dof n- Now he melts, 

There is some little hope he may die honest. 
Port. Madam ! 

Enter Domitilla as Anaxarete 

A nax. Who calls ? What object have we here ? 

Dom. Your cousin keeps her proud state still; I think 
I have fitted her for a part. 

Anax - Did I not charge thee 

I ne'er might see this thing more? 

! P his - I am, indeed, 

What thing you please ; a worm that you may tread on. 
Lower 1 cannot fall td show my duty, 
Till your disdain hath digged a grave to cover 






scene ii] THE ROMAN ACTOR 8 1 

This body with forgotten dust ; and, when 
I know your sentence, cruellest of women ! 
I'll by a willing death, remove the object 
That is an eyesore to you. 

Anax. Wretch, thou dar'st not : 

That were the last and greatest service to me 

Thy doting love could boast of. What dull fool 240 

But thou could nourish any flattering hope, 
One of my height in youth, in birth and fortune, 
Could e'er descend to look upon thy lowness, 
Much less consent to make my lord of one 
I'd not accept, though offered for my slave ? 
My thoughts stoop not so low. 

Dom. There's her true nature : 

No personated scorn. 

Anax. I wrong my worth, 

Or to exchange a syllable or look 
With one so far beneath me. 

Iphis. Yet take heed, 

Take heed of pride, and curiously consider 250 

How brittle the foundation is on which 
You labour to advance it. Niobe, 
Proud of her numerous issue, durst contemn 
Latona's double burthen ; but what followed ? 
She was left a childless mother, and mourned to marble. 
The beauty you o'erprize so, time or sickness 
Can change to loathed deformity ; your wealth 
The prey of thieves ; queen Hecuba, Troy fired, 
Ulysses' bondwoman : but the love I bring you 
Nor time, nor sickness, violent thieves, nor fate, 260 

Can ravish from you. 

Dom. Could the oracle 

Give better counsel ! 

Iphis. Say, will you relent yet, 

Revoking your decree that I should die ? 
Or shall I do what you command ? Resolve ; 
I am impatient of delay. 

Anax. Dispatch then : 

I shall look on your tragedy unmoved, 
Peradventure laugh at it ; for it will prove 
A comedy to me. 

Dom. O devil ! devil ! 






82 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act hi 

I phis. Then thus I take my last leave. All the curses 
Of lovers fail upon you ; and, hereafter, 270 

When any man, like me contemned, shall study, 
In the anguish of his soul, to give a name 
To a scornful, cruel mistress, let him only 
Say, "This most bloody woman is to me 
As Anaxarete was to wretched I phis ! " 
Now feast your tyrannous mind, and glory in 
The ruins you have made : for Hymen's bands, 
That should have made us one, this fatal halter 
For ever shall divorce us. At your gate, 

As a trophy of your pride and my affliction, 280 

I'll presently hang myself. • 

Dom. Not for the world ! 

[Starts from her seat, 
Restrain him, as you love your lives ! 

Cces. Why are you 

Transported thus, Domitia ? 'Tis a play ; 
Or, grant it serious, it at no part merits 
This passion in you. 

Par. • I ne'er purposed, madam, 

To do the deed in earnest ; though I bow 
To your care and tenderness of me. 

Dom. Let me, sir, 

Entreat your pardon ; what I saw presented, 
Carried me beyond myself. 

Cces. To your place again, 

And see what follows. 

Dom. No, I am familiar 290 

With the conclusion ; besides, upon the sudden 
I feel myself much indisposed. 

Cces. To bed then ; 

I'll be thy doctor. 

A ret. There is something more 

In this than passion, — which I must find out, 
Or my intelligence freezes. 

Dom. Come to me, Paris, 

To-morrow, for your reward. 

{Exeunt all but Domitilla and Stephanos 






scene 11] THE ROMAN ACTOR 83 

Steph. Patroness, hear me ; 

Will you not call for your share ? n Sit down with 11 this, 
And, the next action, like a Gaditane n strumpet, 
I shall look to see you tumble ! 

Domitil. Prithee be patient. 

I, that have suffered greater wrongs, bear this : 300 

And that, till my revenge, my comfort is. [Exeunt. 



ACT THE FOURTH 

Scene I 
A Room in the Palace 
Enter Parthenius, Julia, Domitilla, and Cenis 

Parth. Why, 'tis impossible. Paris ! 

Jul. You observed not, 

As it appears, the violence of her passion, 
When, personating Iphis, he pretended, 
For your contempt, fair Anaxarete, 
To hang himself. 

Parth. Yes, yes, I noted that ; 

But never could imagine it could work her 
To such a strange intemperance of affection 
As to dote on him. 

Domitil. By my hopes, I think not 

That she respects, though all here saw and marked it ; 
Presuming she can mould the emperor's will 10 

Into what form she likes, though we, and all 
The informers of the world, conspired to cross it. 

Ccen. Then with what eagerness, this morning, urging 
The want of health and rest, she did entreat 
Caesar to leave her ! 

Domitil. Who no sooner absent, 

But she calls, " Dwarf!" — so in her scorn she styles 

me, — 
" Put on my pantofles. Fetch pen and paper, 
I am to write " ; and with distracted looks, 
In her smock, impatient of so short delay 

8 4 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 85 

As but to have a mantle thrown upon her, 20 

She sealed, — I know not what, but 'twas indorsed, 
" To my loved Paris/' 

Jul, Add to this, I heard her 

Say, when a page received it, " Let him wait me, 
And carefully, in the walk called our Retreat, 
Where Caesar, in his fear to give offence, 
Unsent for, never enters." 

Parth. This being certain — 

For these are more than jealous suppositions — 
Why do not you, that are so near in blood, 
Discover it ? 

DomitiL Alas ! you know we dare not. 
'Twill be received for a malicious practice, 30 

To free us from that slavery which her pride 
Imposes on us. But, if you would please 
To break the ice, on pain to be sunk ever, 
We would aver it. 

Parth. I would second you, 

But that I am commanded with all speed 
To fetch in Ascletario the Chaldaean ; 
Who, in his absence, is condemned of treason, 
For calculating the nativity 
Of Caesar, with all confidence foretelling, 
In every circumstance, when he shall die 40 

A violent death. Yet, if you could approve 
Of my directions, I would have you speak 
As much to Aretinus as you have 
To me delivered : he in his own nature 
Being a spy, on weaker grounds, no doubt, 
Will undertake it ; not for goodness' sake — 
With which he never yet held correspondence — 
But to endear his vigilant observings 
Of what concerns the emperor, and a little 
To triumph in the ruins of this Paris, 50 

That crossed him in the Senate-house. 



86 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act iv 

Enter Aretinus 

Here he comes, 
His nose held up. He hath something in the wind, 
Or I much err, already. My designs 
Command me hence, great ladies. But I leave 
My wishes with you. [Exit. 

Aret. Have I caught your Greatness 

In the trap, my proud Augusta ! 

Domitil. What is't raps him ? 

Aret. And my fine Roman Actor ! Is't even so ? 
No coarser dish to take your wanton palate, 
Save that which, but the emperor, none durst taste of ! 
'Tis very well. I needs must glory in 60 

This rare discovery : but the rewards 
Of my intelligence bid me think, even now, 
By an edict from Caesar, I have power 
To tread upon the neck of slavish Rome, 
Disposing offices and provinces 
To my kinsmen, friends, and clients. 

Domitil. This is more 

Than usual with him. 

Jul. Aretinus ! 

Aret. How ! 

No more respect and reverence tendered to me, 
But Aretinus ! 'Tis confessed that title, 
When you were princesses, and commanded all, 70 

Had been a favour ; but being, as you are, 
Vassals to a proud woman, the worst bondage, 
You stand obliged with as much adoration 
To entertain him that comes armed with strength 
To break your fetters as tanned galley-slaves 
Pay such as do redeem them from the oar. 
I come not to entrap you; but aloud 
Pronounce that yon are mamimised ; and to make 
Your liberty sweeter, yon shall see her fall, 
This empress, — this Domitia, — what you will, — 80 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 87 

That triumphed in your miseries. 

DomitiL Were you serious, 

To prove your accusation I could lend 
Some help. 

Can. And I. 

Jul. And I. 

Aret. No atom to me. 

My eyes and ears are everywhere. I know all, 
To the line and action in the play that took her. 
Her quick dissimulation to excuse 
Her being transported, with. her morning passion, 
I bribed the boy that did convey the letter, 
And, having perused it, made it up again. 
Your griefs and angers are to me familiar ; 90 

That Paris is brought to her, and how far 
He shall be tempted. 

DomitiL This is above wonder. 

Aret. My gold can work much stranger miracles 
Than to corrupt poor waiters. Here, join with me: 

[Takes out a petition. 
'Tis a complaint to Caesar. This is that 
Shall ruin her and raise you. Have you set your hands 
To the accusation ? 

Jul. And will justify 

What weVe subscribed to. 

Ccen. And w T ith vehemency. 

DomitiL I will deliver it. 

Aret. Leave the rest to me then. 

Enter Caesar, with his Guard 

Ccbs. Let our lieutenants bring us victory, 100 

While we enjoy the fruits of peace at home ; 
And, being secured from our intestine foes — 
Far worse than foreign enemies — doubts and fears, 
Though all the sky were hung with blazing meteors, 
Which fond astrologers give out to be 



88 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act iv 

Assured presages of the change of empires 
And deaths of monarchs, we, undaunted yet, 
Guarded with our own thunder, bid defiance 
To them and fate, we being too strongly armed 
For them to wound us. 

Arct. Caesar! 

Jul. As thou art no 

More than a man — 

Ccen. Let not thy passions be 

Rebellious to thy reason — 

Domitil. But receive 

[Delivers the petition. 
This trial of your constancy, as unmoved 
As you go to or from the Capitol, 
Thanks given to Jove for triumphs. 

Cces. Ha! 

Domitil. Vouchsafe 

Awhile to stay the lightning of your eyes, 
Poor mortals dare not look on. 

A ret. There's no vein 

Of yours that rises with high rage, but is 
An earthquake to us. 

Domitil. And, if not kept closed 

With more than human patience, in a moment 120 

Will swallow us to the centre. 

Ccen. Not that we 

Repine to serve her, are we her accusers. 

Jul. But that she's fallen so low. 

Aret. Which on sure proofs 

We can make good. 

Domitil. And show she is unworthy 

Of the least spark of that diviner fire 
You have conferred upon her. 

Cces. I stand doubtful, 

And unresolved what to determine of you. 
In this malicious violence you have offered 
To the altar of her truth and pureness to me, 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 89 

You have but fruitlessly laboured to sully 130 

A white robe of perfection, black-mouthed envy 

Could belch no spot on. But I will put off 

The deity you labour to take from me, 

And argue out of probabilities with you, 

As if I were a man. Can I believe 

That she, that borrows all her light from me, 

And knows to use it, would betray her darkness 

To your intelligence; and make that apparent 

Which, by her perturbations in a play, 

Was yesterday but doubted, and find none 140 

But you, that are her slaves, and therefore hate her, 

Whose aids she might employ to make way for her ? 

Or Aretinus, whom long since she knew 

To be the cabinet counsellor, nay, the key 

Of Caesar's secrets ? Could her beauty raise her 

To this unequalled height, to make her fall 

The more remarkable ? Or must my desires 

To her, and wrongs to Lamia, be revenged 

By her, and on herself, that drew on both ? 

Or she leave our imperial bed, to court 150 

A public actor ? 

Aret. Who dares contradict 

These more than human reasons, that have power 
To clothe base guilt in the most glorious shape 
Of innocence ? 

Domitil. Too well she knew the strength 

And eloquence of her patron to defend her, 
And, thereupon presuming, fell securely ; 
Not fearing an accuser, nor the truth 
Produced against her, which your love and favour 
Will ne'er discern from falsehood. 

Cces. I'll not hear 

A syllable more that may invite a change 160 

In my opinion of her. You have raised 
A fiercer war within me by this fable, 
Though with your lives you vow to make it story, 



90 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act iv 

Than if, and at one instant, all my legions 

Revolted from me, and came armed against me. 

Here in this paper are the swords predestined 

For my destruction ; here the fatal stars, 

That threaten more than ruin ; this the death's head 

That does assure me, if she can prove false, 

That I am mortal, which a sudden fever 170 

Would prompt me to believe, and faintly yield to. 

But now in my full confidence what she suffers, 

In that, from any witness but myself, 

I nourish a suspicion she's untrue, 

My toughness returns to me. Lead on, monsters, 

And, by the forfeit of your lives, confirm 

She is all excellence, as you all baseness ; 

Or let mankind, for her fall, boldly swear 

There are no chaste wives now, nor ever were. [Exeunt. 



Scene II 
A private Walk in the Gardens of the Palace 
Enter Domitia, Paris, and Servants 

Bom. Say we command, that none presume to dare, 
On forfeit of our favour, that is life, 
Out of a saucy curiousness, to stand 
Within the distance of their eyes or ears, 
Till we please to be waited on. [Exeunt Servants. 

And, sirrah, 
Howe'er you are excepted, let it not 
Beget in you an arrogant opinion 
'Tis done to grace you. 

Par. With my humblest service 

I but obey your summons, and should blush else, 
To be so near vou. 



scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 9 1 

Bom. 'Twould become you rather 10 

To fear the greatness of the grace vouchsafed you 
May overwhelm you ; and 'twill do no less, 
If, when you are rewarded, in your cups 
You boast this privacy. 

Par. That were, mightiest empress, 

To play with lightning. 

Bom. You conceive it right. 

The means to kill or save is not alone 
In Caesar circumscribed ; for, if incensed, 
We have our thunder too, that strikes as deadly. 

Par. 'Twould ill become the lowness of my fortune 
To question what you can do, but with all 20 

Humility to attend what is your will, 
And then to serve it. 

Bom. And would not a secret, 

Suppose we should commit it to your trust, 
Scald you to keep it ? 

Par. Though it raged within me 

Till I turned cinders, it should ne'er have vent. 
To be an age a-dying, and with torture, 
Only to be thought worthy of your counsel, 
Or actuate what you command to me, 
A wretched obscure thing, not worth your knowledge, 
Were a perpetual happiness. 

Bom. We could wish 30 

That we could credit thee, and cannot find 
In reason but that thou, whom oft I have seen 
To personate a gentleman, noble, wise, 
Faithful, and gainsome, and what virtues else 
The poet pleases to adorn you with, 
But that — as vessels still partake the odour 
Of the sweet precious liquors they contained — - 
Thou must be really, in some degree, 
The thing thou dost present. Nay, do not tremble. 
We seriously believe it, and presume 40 

Our Paris is the volume in which all 



92 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act iv 

Those excellent gifts the stage hath seen him graced with 
Are curiously bound up. 

Par. The argument 

Is the same, great Augusta, that I, acting 
A fool, a coward, a traitor, or cold cynic, 
Or any other weak and vicious person, 
Of force I must be such. O gracious madam, 
How glorious soever, or deformed, 
I do appear in the scene, my part being ended, 
And all my borrowed ornaments put off, 50 

I am no more, nor less, than what I was 
Before I entered. 

Dom. Come, you would put on 

A wilful ignorance, and not understand 
What 'tis we point at. Must we in plain language, 
Against the decent modesty of our sex, 
Say that we love thee, love thee to enjoy thee ; 
Or that in our desires thou art preferred, 
And Caesar but thy second ? Thou in justice, 
If from the height of majesty we can 
Look down upon thy lowness, and embrace it, 60 

Art bound with fervour to look up to me. 

Par. O madam ! hear me with a patient ear, 
And be but pleased to understand the reasons 
That do deter me from a happiness 
Kings would be rivals for. Can I, that owe 
My life, and all that's mine, to Caesar's bounties, 
Beyond my hopes or merits, showered upon me, 
Make payment for them with ingratitude, 
Falsehood and treason ! Though you have a shape 
Might tempt Hippolytus, and larger power 70 

To help or hurt than wanton Phaedra n had, 
Let loyalty and duty plead my pardon, 
Though I refuse to satisfy. 

Dom. You are coy, 

Expecting I should court you. Let mean ladies 
Use prayers and entreaties to their creatures 



scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 93 

To rise up instruments to serve their pleasures ; 

But for Augusta so to lose herself, 

That holds command o'er Caesar and the world, 

Were poverty of spirit. Thou must, thou shalt. 

The violence of my passions knows no mean, 80 

And in my punishments and my rewards 

I'll use no moderation. Take this only, 

As a caution from me: threadbare chastity 

Is poor in the advancement of her servants, 

But wantonness magnificent ; and 'tis frequent 

To have the salary of vice weigh down 

The pay of virtue. So, without more trifling, 

Thy sudden answer. 

Par. In what a strait am I brought in ! 

Alas ! I know that the denial's death ; 
Nor can my grant, discovered, threaten more. 90 

Yet to die innocent, and have the glory 
For all posterity to report that I 
Refused an empress, to preserve my faith 
To my great master, in true judgement must 
Show fairer than to buy a guilty life 
With wealth and honours. 'Tis the base I build on. 
I dare not, must not, will not. 

Bom. How ! contemned ? 

[Aside.] Since hopes, nor fears, in the extremes, prevail 

not, 
I must use a mean. — Think who 'tis sues to thee. 
H Deny not that yet, which a brother may 100 

Grant to a sister : as a testimony 

Enter Cesar, Aretinus, Julia, Domitilla, Cenis, 
and a Guard, behind 

I am not scorned, kiss me. Kiss me again. 
Kiss closer. Thou art now my Trojan Paris, 
And I thy Helen. 

Par. Since it is your will. 



94 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act iv 

Cces. And I am Menelaus. But I shall be 
Something I know not yet. 

Dom. Why lose we time 

And opportunity ? These are but salads 
To sharpen appetite. Let us to the feast, 

[Courting Paris wantonly. 
Where I shall wish that thou wert Jupiter, 
And I Alcmena ; and that I had power no 

To lengthen out one short night into three, 
And so beget a Hercules. 

Cces. [Comes forward.} While Amphitrio 
Stands by, and draws the curtains. 

Par. O ! 

[Falls on his face. 

Dom. Betrayed ! 

Cces. No ; taken in a net of Vulcan's filing, 11 
Where, in myself, the theatre of the gods 
Are sad spectators, not one of them daring 
To witness, with a smile, he does desire 
To be so shamed for all the pleasure that 
You've sold your being for ! What shall I name thee ? 
Ingrateful, treacherous, insatiate, all 120 

Invectives which, in bitterness of spirit, 
Wronged men have breathed out against wicked women, 
Cannot express thee ! Have I raised thee from 
Thy low condition to the height of greatness, 
Command, and majesty, in one base act 
To render me, that was, before I hugged thee, 
An adder, in my bosom, more than man, 
A thing beneath a beast ! Did I force these 
Of mine own blood, as handmaids to kneel to 
Thy pomp and pride, having myself no thought 130 

But how with benefits to bind thee mine; 
And am T thus rewarded ! Not a knee, 
Nor tear, nor sign of sorrow for thy fault? 
Break, stubborn silence ! What canst thou allege 
To stay my vengeance ? 




scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 95 

Dom. This. Thy lust compelled me 

To be a strumpet, and mine hath returned it 
In my intent and will, though not in act, 
To cuckold thee. 

Cces. O impudence ! take her hence, 

And let her make her entrance into hell, 
By leaving life with all the tortures that 140 

Flesh can be sensible of. Yet stay. What power 
Her beauty still holds o'er my soul, that wrongs 
Of this unpardonable nature cannot teach me 
To right myself, and hate her ! — Kill her. — Hold ! 

that my dotage should increase from that 
Which should breed detestation ! By Minerva, 
If I look on her longer, I shall melt, 

And sue to her, my injuries forgot, 

Again to be received into her favour ; 

Could honour yield to it ! Carry her to her chamber. 

Be that her prison, till in cooler blood 151 

1 shall determine of her. [Exit Guard with Domitia. 
A ret. Now step I in, 

While he's in this calm mood, for my reward. — 
Sir, if my service hath deserved — 

Cces. Yes, yes; 

And 111 reward thee. Thou hast robbed me of 
All rest and peace, and been the principal means 
To make me know that, of which if again 
I could be ignorant of, I would purchase it 
With the loss of empire. [Re-enter Guard.] Strangle 

him. n Take these hence too, 
And lodge them in the dungeon. Could your reason, 160 
Dull wretches, flatter you with hope to think 
That this discovery, that hath showered upon me 
Perpetual vexation, should not fall 

Heavy on you ? Away with them ! Stop their mouths ; 
I will hear no reply. 

[Exit Guard with Aretinus, Julia, Cents, and 
Domitilla. 



96 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act iv 

O Paris, Paris ! 
How shall I argue with thee ? How begin 
To make thee understand, before I kill thee, 
With what grief and unwillingness 'tis forced from me ? 
Yet, in respect I have favoured thee, I'll hear 
What thou canst speak to qualify or excuse 170 

Thy readiness to serve this woman's lust ; 
And wish thou couldst give me such satisfaction, 
As I might bury the remembrance of it. 
Look up. We stand attentive. 

Par. O dread Caesar ! 

To hope for life, or plead in the defence 
Of my ingratitude, were again to wrong you. 
I know I have deserved death ; and my suit is, 
That you w T ould hasten it. Yet, that your highness, 
When I am dead — as sure I will not live — 
May pardon me, I'll only urge my frailty, 180 

Her will, and the temptation of that beauty 
Which you could not resist. How could poor I, then, 
Fly that which followed me, and Caesar sued for ? 
This is all. And now your sentence. 

Cces. Which I know not 

How to pronounce. O that thy fault had been 
But such as I might pardon ! If thou hadst 
In wantonness, like Nero, fired proud Rome, 
Betrayed an army, butchered the whole Senate, 
Committed sacrilege, or any crime 

The justice of our Roman laws calls death, igo 

I had prevented any intercession, 
And freely signed thy pardon. 

Par. But for this, 

Alas ! you cannot, nay, you must not, sir; 
Nor let it to posterity be recorded, 
That Caesar, unrevenged, suffered a wrong 
Which, if a private man should sit down with it, 
Cowards would baffle him. 

( l (Bs. With such true feeling 



scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 97 

Thou arguest against thyself that it 

Works more upon me than if my Minerva, 

The grand protectress of my life and empire, 200 

On forfeit of her favour, cried aloud, 

" Caesar, show mercy !" and, I know not how, 

I am inclined to it. Rise. I'll promise nothing ; 

Yet clear thy cloudy fears, and cherish hopes. 

What we must do, we shall do. We remember 

A tragedy we oft have seen with pleasure, 

Called The False Servant. 

Par. Such a one we have, sir. 

Cces. In which a great lord takes to his protection 
A man forlorn, giving him ample power 
To order and dispose of his estate 210 

In's absence, he pretending then a journey; 
But yet with this restraint, that, on no terms — 
This lord suspecting his wife's constancy, 
She having played false to a former husband — 
The servant, though solicited, should consent. 
Though she commanded him, to quench her flames. 

Par. That was, indeed, the argument. 

Cces. And what 

Didst thou play in it ? 

Par. The false servant, sir. 

Cces. Thou didst, indeed. Do the players wait with- 
out? 

Par. They do, sir, and prepared to act the story 220 
Your majesty mentioned. 

Cces. Call them in. Who presents 

The injured lord ? 

Enter yEsopus, Latinus, and a Lady 

JEsop. 'Tis my part, sir. 

Cces. Thou didst not 

Do it to the life ; we can perform it better. 
Off with my robe and wreath. Since Nero scorned not 



98 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act iv 

The public theatre, we in private may 
Disport ourselves. This cloak and hat, without 
Wearing a beard or other property, 
Will fit the person. 

JEsop. Only, sir, a foil, 

The point and edge rebated, when you act, 
To do the murder. If you please to use this, 230 

And lay aside your own sword. 

Cces. By no means. 

In jest nor earnest this parts never from me. 
We'll have but one short scene, — that where the lady 
In an imperious way commands the servant 
To be unthankful to his patron. When 
My cue's to enter, prompt me. Nay, begin, 
And do it sprightly. Though but a new actor, 
When I come to execution, you shall find 
No cause to laugh at me. 

Lat. In the name of wonder, 

What's Caesar's purpose ! 

JEsop. There is no contending. 240 

Cces. Why, when ? n 

Par. [Aside.] I am armed: 

And, stood grim Death now in my view, and his 
"[Inevitable dart aimed at my breast, 
His cold embraces should not bring an ague 
To any of my faculties, till his pleasures 
Were served and satisfied ; which done, Nestor's years 
To me would be unwelcome. 

Lady. Must we entreat, 

That were born to command ; or court a servant, 
That owes his food and clothing to our bounty, 
For that which thou ambitiously shouldst kneel for? 250 

Urge not, in thy excuse, the favours of 
Thy absent lord, or that thou stand'st engaged 
For thy life to his charity ; nor thy fears 
Of what may follow, it being in my power 
To mould him any way. 

Par. As you may me, 



scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 99 

In what his reputation is not wounded, 
Nor I, his creature, in my thankfulness suffer. 
I know you're young, and fair. Be virtuous too, 
And loyal to his bed, that hath advanced you 
To the height of happiness. 

Lady. Can my love-sick heart 260 

Be cured with counsel ? Or durst reason ever 
Offer to put in an exploded plea 
In the court of Venus? My desires admit not 
The least delay ; and therefore instantly 
Give me to understand what I shall trust to. 
For, if I am refused, and not enjoy 
Those ravishing pleasures from thee I run mad for, 
I'll swear unto my lord, at his return — 
Making what I deliver good with tears — 

That brutishly thou wouldst have forced from me 270 

What I make suit for. And then but imagine 
What 'tis to die, with these words, "slave and traitor," 
With burning corsives writ upon thy forehead, 
And live prepared for't. 

Par. [Aside] This he will believe 

Upon her information, 'tis apparent ; 
And then I'm nothing ; and of two extremes, • 
Wisdom says, choose the less. — Rather than fall 
Under your indignation, I will yield. 
This kiss, and this, confirms it. 

Msop. Now, sir, now. 

Cces. I must take them at it ? 

JEsop. Yes, sir; be but per- 

fect. 280 

Cces. "0 villain! thankless villain!" I should talk now, 
But I've forgot my part. But I can do. 
Thus, thus, and thus ! [Stabs Paris. 

Par. O ! I am slain in earnest. 

Cces. 'Tis true ; and 'twas my purpose, my good Paris. 
And yet, before life leaves thee, let the honour 
I've done thee in thy death bring comfort to thee. 
If it had been within the power of Caesar, 
His dignity preserved, he had pardoned thee ; 
But cruelty of honour did deny it. 
Yet, to confirm I loved thee, 'twas my study 29c 



100 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act iv 

To make thy end more glorious, to distinguish 

My Paris from all others ; and in that 

Have shown my pity. Nor would I let thee fall 

By a centurion's sword, or have thy limbs 

Rent piecemeal by the hangman's hook, n however 

Thy crime deserved it. But, as thou didst live 

Rome's bravest actor, 'twas my plot that thou 

Shouldst die in action, and, to crown it, die, 

With an applause enduring to all times, 

By our imperial hand. His soul is freed 300 

From the prison of his flesh. Let it mount upward ! 

And for this trunk, when that the funeral pile 

Hath made it ashes, we'll see it enclosed 

In a golden urn ; poets adorn n his hearse 

With their most ravishing sorrows, and the stage 

For ever mourn him, and all such as were 

His glad spectators weep his sudden death, 

The cause forgotten in his epitaph. 

[Sad music; the Players bear of Paris' body, Cesar 
and the rest following. 



\ 






ACT THE FIFTH 
Scene I 

A Room in the Palace, with an Image of Minerva 
Enter Parthenius, Stephanos, and Guard 

Parth. Keep a strong guard upon him, and admit not 
Access to any, to exchange a word 
Or syllable with him, till the emperor pleases 
To call him n to his presence. — [Exit Guard.] — The 

relation 
That you have made me, Stephanos, of these late 
Strange passions in Caesar, much amaze me. 
The informer Aretinus put to death 
For yielding him a true discovery 
Of the empress' wantonness ; poor Paris killed first, 
And now lamented ; and the princesses 10 

Confined to several islands ; yet Augusta, 
The machine on which all this mischief moved, 
Received again to grace ! 

Steph. Nay, courted to it. 

Such is the impotence of his affection ! 
Yet, to conceal his weakness, he gives out 
The people made suit for her, whom they hate more 
Than civil war, or famine. But take heed. 
My lord, that, nor in your consent nor wishes, 
You lend or furtherance or favour to 
The plot contrived against her. Should she prove it, 20 
Nay, doubt it only, you are a lost man, 
Her power o'er doting Caesar being now 
Greater than ever. 



102 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act V 

Parth. 'Tis a truth I shake at ; 

And, when there's opportunity — 

Steph. Say but, Do, 

I am yours, and sure. 

Parth. I'll stand one trial more, 

And then you shall hear from me. 

Steph. Now observe 

The fondness of this tyrant, and her pride. 

[They stand aside. 

Enter Cesar and Domitia 

Cces. Nay, all's forgotten. 

Dom. It may be, on your part. 

Cces. Forgiven too, Domitia. 'Tis a favour 
That you should welcome with more cheerful looks. 30 
Can Caesar pardon what you durst not hope for, 
That did the injury, and yet must sue 
To her, whose guilt is washed off by his mercy, 
Only to entertain it ? 

Dom. I asked none ; 

And I should be more wretched to receive 
Remission for what I hold no crime, 
But by a bare acknowledgment, than if, 
By slighting and contemning it, as now, 
I dared thy utmost fury. Though thy flatterers 
Persuade thee that thy murders, lusts, and rapes, 40 j 

Are virtues in thee ; and what pleases Caesar, 
Though never so unjust, is right and lawful ; 
Or work in thee a false belief that thou 
Art more than mortal ; yet I to thy teeth, 
When circled with thy guards, thy rods, thy axes, 
And all the ensigns of thy boasted power, 
Will say, Domitian, nay, add to it Caesar, 
Is a weak, feeble man, a bondman to 
His violent passions, and in that my slave; 
Nay, more my slave than my affections made me 50 ji 
To my loved Paris. 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 103 

Cces. Can I live and hear this ? 

Or hear, and not revenge it ? Come, you know 
The strength that you hold on me ; do not use it 
With too much cruelty ; for, though 'tis granted 
That Lydian Omphale 11 had less command 
O'er Hercules than you usurp o'er me, 
Reason may teach me to shake off the yoke 
Of my fond dotage. 

Dom. Never ; do not hope it. 

It cannot be. Thou being my beauty's captive, 
And not to be redeemed, my empire's larger 60 

Than thine, Domitian, which I'll exercise 
With rigour on thee, for my Paris' death. 
And, when I've forced those eyes, now red with fury, 
To drop down tears, in vain spent to appease me, 
I know thy fervour such to my embraces, 
Which shall be, though still kneeled for, still denied thee, 
That thou with languishment shalt wish my actor 
Did live again, so thou mightst be his second 
To feed upon those delicates, when he's sated. 

Cces. O my Minerva ! 

Dom. There she is, [Points to the statue] 

invoke her. 70 

She cannot arm thee with ability 
To draw thy sword on me, my power being greater. 
Or only say to thy centurions, 
"Dare none of you do what I shake to think on, 
And, in this woman's death, remove the Furies 
That every hour afflict me?" Lamia's wrongs, 
When thy lust forced me from him, are, in me, 
At the height revenged. Nor would I outlive Paris, 
But that thy love, increasing with my hate, 
May add unto thy torments. So, with all 80 

Contempt I can, I leave thee. [Exit. 

Cces. I am lost ; 

Nor am I Caesar. When I first betrayed 
The freedom of my faculties and will 



104 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act v 

To this imperious siren, I laid down 

The empire of the world, and of myself, 

At her proud feet. Sleep all my ireful powers ? 

Or is the magic of my dotage such, 

That I must still make suit to hear those charms 

That do increase my thraldom ? Wake, my anger ! 

For shame, break through this lethargy, and appear 90 

With usual terror, and enable me, 

Since I wear not a sword to pierce her heart, 

Nor have a tongue to say this, "Let her die," 

Though 'tis done with a fever-shaken hand, 

[Pulls out a table-book. 
To sign her death. Assist me, great Minerva, 
And vindicate thy votary ! [Writes.] So ; she's now 
Among the list of those I have proscribed, 
And are, to free me of my doubts and fears, 
To die to-morrow. 

Steph. That same fatal book 

Was never drawn yet, but some men of rank 100 

Were marked out for destruction. [Exit. 

Parth. I begin 

To doubt myself. 

Cces. Who waits there ? 

Parth. [Coming forward.} Caesar. 

Cces. So ! 

These that command armed troops, quake at my frowns, 
And yet a woman slights them. Where's the wizard 
We charged you to fetch in ? 

Parth. Ready to suffer 

What death you please to appoint him. 

Cces. Bring him in. 

We'll question him ourself. 

Enter Tribunes and Guard with Ascletario 

Now, you, that hold 
Intelligence with the stars, and dare prefix 



I 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 105 

The day and hour in which we are to part 

With life and empire, punctually foretelling no 

The means and manner of our violent end ; 

As you would purchase credit to your art, 

Resolve me, since you are assured of us, 

What fate attends yourself ? 

Ascle. I have had long since 

A certain knowledge, and, as sure as thou 
Shalt die to-morrow, being the fourteenth of 
The kalends of October, the hour five, 
Spite of prevention, this carcass shall be 
Torn and devoured by dogs ; and let that stand 
For a firm prediction. 

Cces. May our body, wretch, 120 

Find never nobler sepulchre, if this 
Fall ever on thee ! Are we the great disposer 
Of life and death, we cannot mock the stars 
In such a trifle ? Hence with the impostor ; 
And, having cut his throat, erect a pile, 
Guarded with soldiers, till his cursed trunk 
Be burned to ashes. Upon forfeit of 
Your life, and theirs, perform it. 

Ascle. 'Tis in vain. 

When what I have foretold is made apparent, 
Tremble to think what follows. 

Cces. Drag him hence, 130 

[The Tribunes and Guard bear off Ascletario. 
And do as I command you. I was never 
Fuller of confidence ; for, having got 
The victory of my passions, in my freedom 
From proud Domitia — who shall cease to live, 
Since she disdains to love — I rest unmoved ; 
And, in defiance of prodigious meteors, 
Chaldaeans' vain predictions, jealous fears 
Of my near friends and freedmen, certain hate 
Of kindred and alliance, or all terrors 
The soldier's doubted faith, or people's rage, 140 



106 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act v 

Can bring to shake my constancy, I am armed. 

That scrupulous thing styled conscience is seared up, 

And I insensible of all my actions, 

For which, by moral and religious fools, 

I stand condemned, as they had never been. 

And, since I have subdued triumphant love, 

I will not deify pale captive fear, 

Nor in a thought receive it ; for, till thou, 

Wisest Minerva, that from my first youth 

Hast been my sole protectress, dost forsake me, 150 

Not Junius Rusticus' threatened apparition, 

Nor what this soothsayer but even now foretold, 

Being things impossible to human reason, 

Shall in a dream disturb me. Bring my couch there ; 

A sudden but a secure drowsiness 

Invites me to repose myself. [A couch brought in.} Let 

music, 
With some choice ditty, second it. [Exit Parthenius.] 

I' the mean time, 
Rest there, dear book, which opened, when I wake, 

[Lays the book under his pillow. 
Shall make some sleep for ever. 

[Music and a song. Cesar sleeps. 

Re-enter Parthenius and Domitia 

Dorn. Write my name 

In his bloody scroll, Parthenius ! The fear's idle. 160 
He durst not, could not. 

Parth. I can assure nothing. 

But I observed, when you departed from him, 
After some little passion, but much fury, 
He drew it out. Whose death he signed, I know not; 
But in his looks appeared a resolution 
Of what before he staggered at. What he hath 
Determined of is uncertain, but too soon 
Will fall on you, or me, or both, or any s 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 107 

His pleasure known to the tribunes and centurions, 

Who never use to inquire his will, but serve it. 170 

Now, if, out of the confidence of your power, 

The bloody catalogue being still about him, 

As he sleeps you dare peruse it, or remove it, 

You may instruct yourself, or what to suffer, 

Or how to cross it. 

Dom. I would not be caught 

With too much confidence. By your leave, sir. Ha ! 
No motion ! You lie uneasy, sir. 
Let me mend your pillow. [Takes away the book. 

Parth. Have you it ? 

Dom. 'Tis here. 

Cces. O ! 

Parth. You have waked him : softly, gracious madam, 
While we are unknown n ; and then consult at leisure. 180 

[Exeunt. 

Dreadful music. The apparitions of Junius Rusticus and 
Palphurius Sura rise, with bloody swords in their 
hands ; they wave them over the head of Caesar, who 
seems troubled in his sleep, and as if praying to the 
image of Minerva, which they scornfully seize, and then 
disappear with it. 

Cces. [Starting.] Defend me, goddess, or this horrid 
dream 
Will force me to distraction ! Whither have 
These Furies borne thee ? Let me rise and follow. 
I am bathed o'er with the cold sweat of death, 
And am deprived of organs to pursue 
These sacrilegious spirits. Am I at once 
Robbed of my hopes and being ? No, I live, — 

[Rises distractedly. 
Yes, live, and have discourse, 11 to know myself 
Of gods and men forsaken. What accuser 
Within me cries aloud, I have deserved it, 190 



108 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act v 

In being just to neither ? Who dares speak this ? 

Am I not Caesar ? How ! again repeat it ? 

Presumptuous traitor, thou shalt die ! What traitor ? 

He that hath been a traitor to himself, 

And stands convicted here. Yet who can sit 

A competent judge o'er Caesar ? Caesar. Yes, 

Caesar by Caesar's sentenced, and must suffer. 

Minerva cannot save him. Ha ! where is she ? 

Where is my goddess ? Vanished ! I am lost then. 

No ; 'twas no dream, but a most real truth, 200 

That Junius Rusticus and Palphurius Sura, 

Although their ashes were cast in the sea, 

Were by their innocence made up again, 

And in corporeal forms but now appeared, 11 

Waving their bloody swords above my head, 

As at their deaths they threatened. And methought 

Minerva, ravished hence, whispered that she 

Was, for my blasphemies, disarmed by Jove, 

And could no more protect me. Yes, 'twas so. 

[Thunder and lightning. 
His thunder does confirm it, against which, 210 

Howe'er it spare the laurel, this proud wreath 

Enter three Tribunes 

Is no assurance. — Ha ! come you resolved 
To be my executioners ? 

1st Trib. Allegiance 

And faith forbid that we should lift an arm 
Against your sacred head. 

2nd Trib. We rather sue 

For mercy. 

jd Trib. And acknowledge that in justice 
Our lives are forfeited for not performing 
What Cajsar charged us. 

zst Trib. Nor did we transgress it 

In our want of will or care; for, being but men, 



scene i] THE ROMAN ACTOR 109 

It could not be in us to make resistance, 220 

The gods fighting against us. 

Ccbs. Speak, in what 

Did they express their anger ? We will hear it, 
But dare not say, undaunted. 

1st Trib. In brief thus, sir : 

The sentence given by your imperial tongue, 
For the astrologer Ascletario's death, 
With speed was put in execution. 

Cats. Well. 

1st Trib. For, his throat cut, his legs bound, and his 
arms 
Pinioned behind his back, the breathless trunk 
Was with all scorn dragged to the Field of Mars, 
And there, a pile being raised of old dry wood, 230 

Smeared o'er with oil and brimstone, or what else 
Could help to feed or to increase the fire, 
The carcass was thrown on it. But no sooner 
The stuff, that was most apt, began to flame, 
But suddenly, to the amazement of 
The fearless soldier, a sudden flash 
Of lightning', breaking through the scattered clouds, 
With such a horrid violence forced its passage, 
And as disdaining all heat but itself, 
In a moment quenched the artificial fire : 240 

And, before we could kindle it again, 
A clap of thunder followed, with such noise 
As if then Jove, incensed against mankind, 
Had in his secret purposes determined 
A universal ruin to the world. 
This horror past, not at Deucalion's flood 
Such a stormy shower of rain — and yet that word is 
Too narrow to express it — was e'er seen. 
Imagine rather, sir, that with less fury 
The waves rush down the cataracts of Nile ; 250 

Or that the sea, spouted into the air 
By the angry Orc, n endangering tall ships 



IIO THE ROMAN ACTOR Tact v 

But sailing near it, so falls down again. 

Yet here the wonder ends not, but begins : 

For, as in vain we laboured to consume 

The witch's body, all the dogs of Rome, 

Howling and yelling like to famished wolves, 

Brake in upon us ; and, though thousands were 

Killed in th' attempt, some did ascend the pile, 

And with their eager fangs seized on the carcass. 260 

Cces. But have they torn it ? 

1st Trib. Torn it, and devoured it. 

Cces. I then am a dead man, since all predictions 
Assure me I am lost. O, my loved soldiers, 
Your emperor must leave you ! Yet, however 
I cannot grant myself a short reprieve, 
I freely pardon you. The fatal hour 
Steals fast upon me. I must die this morning 
By five, my soldiers ; that's the latest hour 
You e'er must see me living. 

1st Trib. Jove avert it ! 

In our swords lies your fate, and we will guard it. 270 

Cces. O no, it cannot be ; it is decreed 
Above, and by no strengths here to be altered. 
Let proud mortality but look on Caesar, 
Compassed of late with armies, in his eyes 
Carrying both life and death, and in his arms 
Fathoming the earth ; that would be styled a god, 
And is, for that presumption, cast beneath 
The low condition of a common man, 
Sinking with mine own weight. 

1st Trib. Do not forsake 

Yourself, we'll never leave you. 

2nd Trib. We'll draw up 280 

More cohorts of your guard, if you doubt treason. 

Cces. They cannot save me. The offended gods, 
That now sit. judges on me, from their envy 
Of my power and greatness here, conspire against me, 

1st Trib. Endeavour to appease them. 






scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 1 1 1 

Cces. 'Twill be fruitless. 

I am past hope of remission. Yet, could I 
Decline this dreadful hour of five, these terrors, 
That drive me to despair, would soon fly from me : 
And could you but till then assure me — 

ist Trib. Yes, sir ; 

Or we'll fall with you, and make Rome the urn . 290 

In which we'll mix our ashes. 

Cces. 'Tis said nobly. 

I am something comforted ; howe'er, to die 
Is the full period of calamity. [Exeunt. 



Scene II 

Another Room in the Palace 

Enter Parthenius, Domitia, Julia, Cenis, Domitilla, 
Stephanos, Sejeius, and Entellus 

Parth. You see we are all condemned ; there's no 
evasion ; 
We must do, or suffer. 

Steph. But it must be sudden ; 

The least delay is mortal. 

Bom. Would I were 

A man, to give it action ! 

Domitil. Could I make my approaches, though my 
stature 
Does promise little, I have a spirit as daring 
As hers that can reach higher. 

Steph. I will take 

That burthen from you, madam. All the art is, 
To draw him from the tribunes that attend him ; 
For, could you bring him but within my sword's reach, 
The world should owe her freedom from a tyrant ii 

To Stephanos. 



112 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act v 

Sej. You shall not share alone 

The glory of a deed that will endure 
To all posterity. 

Ent. I will put in 

For a part, myself. 

Parth. Be resolute, and stand close. 

I have conceived a way, and with the hazard 
Of my life I'll practise it, to fetch him hither. 
But then no trifling. 

Steph. We'll dispatch him, fear not : 

A dead dog never bites. 

Partk. Thus then at all. n 

[Exit; the rest conceal themselves. 

Enter Cesar and the Tribunes 

Cces. How slow-paced are these minutes ! In extremes, 
How miserable is the least delay ! 
Could I imp feathers to the wings of time, 
Or with as little ease command the sun 
To scourge his coursers up Heaven's eastern hill, 
Making the hour I tremble at, past recalling, 
As I can move this dial's tongue to six ; 
My veins and arteries, emptied with fear, 
Would fill and swell again. How do I look ? 
Do you yet see Death about me ? 

ist Trib. Think not of him : 

There is no danger. All these prodigies 30 

That do affright you, rise from natural causes ; 
And though you do ascribe them to yourself, 
Had you ne'er been, had happened. 

Cm. 'Tis well said, 

Exceeding well, brave soldier. Can it be, 
That I, that feel myself in health and strength, 
Should still believe I am so near my end, 
And have my guards about me? Perish all 
Predictions ! I grow constant they arc false, 
And built upon uncertainties. 



scene n] THE ROMAN ACTOR 113 

1st Trib. This is right. 

Now Caesar's heard like Caesar. 

Cces. We will to 40 

The camp, and having there confirmed the soldier 
With a large donative, and increase of pay, 
Some shall — I say no more. 

Re-enter Parthenius 

Parth. All happiness. 

Security, long life, attend upon 
The monarch of the world ! 

Ccbs. Thy looks are cheerful. 

Parth. And my relation full of joy and wonder. 
Why is the care of your imperial body, 
My lord, neglected, the feared hour being past, 
In which your life was threatened ? 

Cces. Is't past five ? 

Parth. Past six, upon my knowledge ; and, in justice, 
Your clock-master should die, that hath deferred 51 

Your peace so long. There is a post new lighted, 
That brings assured intelligence that your legions 
In Syria have won a glorious day, 
And much enlarged your empire. I have kept him 
Concealed, that you might first partake the pleasure 
In private, and the Senate from yourself 
Be taught to understand how much they owe 
To you and to your fortune. 

Cces. Hence, pale fear, then ! 

Lead me, Parthenius. 

1st Trib. Shall we w T ait you ? 

Cces. No. 60 

After losses guards are useful. Know your distance. 

[Exeunt Cesar and Parthenius. 

2nd Trib. How strangely hopes delude men ! As I 
live, 
The hour is not yet come. 



114 THE ROMAN ACTOR [act v 

ist Trib. Howe'er, we are 

To pay our duties, and observe the sequel. 

[Exeunt Tribunes. Domitia and the rest come forward. 
Dom. I hear him coming. Be constant. 

Re-enter Cesar and Parthenius 

Cces. Where, Parthenius, 

Is this glad messenger ? 

Steph. Make the door fast. — Here ; 

A messenger of horror. 

Cces. How ! betrayed ? 

Dom. No ; taken, tyrant. 

Cces. My Domitia 

In the conspiracy ! 

Parth. Behold this book. 

Cces. Nay, then I am lost. Yet, though I am unarmed, 
I'll not fall poorly. {Overthrows Stephanos. 

Steph. Help me ! 

Ent. Thus, and thus ! 71 

[They stab him. 

Sej. Are you so long a-falling ? 

Cces. 'Tis done basely. 

[Falls and dies. 

Parth. This for my father's death. 

Dom. This for my Paris. 

Jid. This for thy incest. 

Domitil. This for thy abuse 

Of Domitilla. [They severally stab him. 

Tribunes. [Within.] Force the doors ! 

Re-enter Tribunes 

O Mars ! 
What have you done ? 

Parth. What Rome shall give us thanks for. 

Steph. Dispatched a monster. 



scene ii] THE ROMAN ACTOR 115 

1st Trib. Yet he was our prince, 

However wicked ; and, in you, this ' n murder. — 
Which whosoe'er succeeds him will revenge : 
Nor will we, that served under his command, 80 

Consent that such a monster as thyself — [To Domitia. 
For in thy wickedness Augusta's title 
Hath quite forsook thee — thou, that wxrt the ground 
Of all these mischiefs, shall go hence unpunished. 
Lay hands on her and drag her to sentence. 11 
We will refer the hearing to the Senate, 
Who may at their best leisure censure you. 
Take up his body. He in death hath paid 
For all his cruelties. Here's the difference: 
Good kings are mourned for after life ; but ill, 90 

And such as governed only by their will, 
And not their reason, unlamented fall ; 
No good man's tear shed at their funeral. 

[Exeunt; the Tribunes bearing the body of Caesar. 



THE MAID OF HONOUR 



THE MAID OF HONOUR 

The Maid of Honour was published as a quarto in 1632, but 
when it was written or first acted is not known. It was fre- 
quently presented, we are assured, "with good allowance," 
by the Queen's Servants. The plot is borrowed from the 
thirty-second novel" in the second volume of Painter's Palace 
of Pleasure. Professor Gardiner maintains (Contemporary 
Review, xxviii), but hardly convincingly, that the play abounds 
in political allusions. 



118 



To my most honoured Friends, 
SIR FRANCIS FOLJAMBE, Knt. and Bart., 

AND 

SIR THOMAS BLAND," Knt. 

That you have been, and continued so for many years, 
since you vouchsafed to own me, patrons to me and my 
despised studies, I cannot but with all humble thankfulness 
acknowledge : and living, as you have done, inseparable in 
your friendship, (notwithstanding all differences, and suits in 
law arising between you,) I held it as impertinent as absurd, 
in the presentment of my service in this kind to divide you. 
A free confession of a debt in a meaner man, is the amplest 
satisfaction to his superiors ; and I heartily wish, that the 
world may take notice, and from myself, that I had not to 
this time subsisted, but that I was supported by your frequent 
courtesies and favours. When your most serious occasions 
will give you leave, you may please to peruse this trifle, and 
peradventure find something in it that may appear worthy of 
your protection. Receive it, I beseech you, as a testimony of 
his duty who, while he lives, resolves to be 

Truly and sincerely devoted to your service, « 

Philip Massinger, 



119 



DRAMATIS PERSON 'M 

Roberto, King of Sicily. 

Ferdinand, Duke of Urbin. n 

Bertoldo, the King's natural Brother, a Knight of Malta. 

Gonzaga, a Knight of Malta, General to the Duchess of Siena. 

Astutio, a Counsellor of State. 

Fulgentio, the Minion of Roberto. 

Adorni, a follower of Camiola's Father. 

Signior Sylli, a foolish self-lover. 

Antonio, ) ' -*. . , , 

„ >two rich Heirs, city-bred. 

Gasparo, \ 

Pierio, a Colonel to Gonzaga. 

RODERIGO, )„'.'. r, 

> Captains to Gonzaga. 
Jacomo, ) 

T ' > Captains to Duke Ferdinand. 

Livio, \ 

Father Paulo, a Priest, Camiola's Confessor. 

Ambassador from the Duke of Urbin. 

A Bishop. 

A Page. 

Scout, Soldiers, Jailer, Attendants, Servants, &c. 

Aurelia, Duchess of Siena. 
Camiola, the Maid of Honour. 
Clarinda, her Woman. 

Scene — Partly in Sicily and partly in the Sienese 



i 20 




THE MAID OF HONOUR 



ACT THE FIRST 

Scene I 

Palermo. A State-room in the Palace 

Enter Astutio and Adoeni 

Ador. Good day to your lordship. 

A st. Thanks, Adorni. 

Ador. May I presume to ask if the ambassador 
Employed by Ferdinand the Duke of Urbin, 
Hath audience this morning ? 

Enter Fulgentio 

A st. 'Tis uncertain ; 

For, though a counsellor of state, I am not 
Of the cabinet council. But there's one, if he please, 
That may resolve you. 

A dor. I will move him. — Sir ! 

Ful. If youVe a suit, show water, 11 I am blind else. 

Ador. A suit, yet of a nature not to prove 
The quarry that you hawk for. If your words 
Are not like Indian wares, and every scruple 
To be weighed and rated, one poor syllable, 
Vouchsafed in answer of a fair demand, 
Cannot deserve a fee. 

Ful. It seems you are ignorant, 

I neither speak nor hold my peace for nothing ; 
And yet, for once, I care not if I answer 
One single question, gratis. 



122 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act i 

A dor. I much thank you. 

Hath the ambassador audience, sir, to-day ? 

Ful. Yes. 

A dor. At what hour? 

Ful. I promised not so much. 

A syllable you begged, my charity gave it. 20 

Move me no further. [Exit. 

A st. This you wonder at. 

With me, 'tis usual. 

A dor. Pray you, sir, w T hat is he ? 

Ast. A gentleman, yet no lord. He hath some drops 
Of the king's blood running in his veins, derived 
Some ten degrees off. His revenue n lies 
In a narrow compass, the king's ear ; and yields him 
Every hour a fruitful harvest. Men may talk 
Of three crops in a year in the Fortunate Islands, 11 
Or profit made by wool, but, while there are suitors, 
His sheepshearing, nay, shaving to the quick, 
Is in every quarter of the moon, and constant. 
In the time of trussing a point," he can undo 
Or make a man. His play or recreation 
Is to raise this up or pull down that ; and though 
He never yet took orders, makes more bishops 
In Sicily than the pope himself. 

Enter Bertoldo, Gasparo, Antonio, and a Servant 

Ador. Most strange ! 

Ast. The presence fills. He in the Malta habit 
Is the natural brother of the king — a by-blow. 

Ador. I understand you. 

Gasp. Morrow to my uncle. 

Ant. And my late guardian. — But at length I have 
The reins in my own hands. 

Ast. Pray you, use them well, 41 

Or you'll too late repent it. 

Bert. With this jewel 

Presented to Camiola, prepare 



scene l] THE MAID OF HONOUR 123 

This night a visit for me. [Exit Servant.] I shall have 
Your company, gallants, I perceive, if that 
The king will hear of war. 

Ant. Sir, I have horses 

Of the best breed in Naples, fitter far 
To break a rank than crack a lance ; and are 
In their career of such incredible swiftness, 
They outstrip swallows. 

Bert. And such may be useful 50 

To run away with, should we be defeated. 
You are well provided, signior. 

Ant. Sir, excuse me. 

All of their race, by instinct, know a coward, 
And scorn the burthen. They come on like lightning ; 
Foundered a in a retreat. 

Bert. By no means back them ; 

Unless you know your courage sympathize n 
With the daring of your horse. 

Ant. My lord, this is bitter. 

Gasp. I will raise me a company of foot, 
And, when at push of pike I am to enter 
A breach, to show my valour, I have bought me 60 

An armour cannon proof. 

Bert. You will not leap, then, 

O'er an outwork in your shirt ? 

Gasp. I do not like 

Activity that way. 

Bert. You had rather stand 

A mark to try their muskets on ? 

Gasp. If I do 

No good, I'll do no hurt. 

Bert. 'Tis in you, signior, 

A Christian resolution, and becomes you ! 
But I will not discourage you. 

Ant. You are, sir, 

A knight of Malta, 11 and, as I have heard, 
Have served against the Turk. 



124 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act i 

Bert. Tis true. 

Ant. Pray you, show us 

The difference between the city valour 70 

And service in the field. 

Bert. 'Tis somewhat more 

Than roaring in a tavern or a brothel, 
Or to steal a constable from a sleeping watch, 
Then burn their halberds ; or, safe guarded by 
Your tenants' sons, to carry away a May-pole 
From a neighbour village. You will not find there 
Your masters of dependencies, 11 to take up 
A drunken brawl, or, to get you the names 
Of valiant chevaliers, fellows that will be, 
For a cloak with thrice-dyed velvet and a cast suit, 80 
Kicked down the stairs. A knave with half a breech there, 
And no shirt — being a thing superfluous 
And worn out of his memory — if you bear not 
Yourselves both in and upright, with a provant sword 
Will slash your scarlets and your plush a new way ; 
Or, with the hilts, thunder about your ears 
Such music as will make your worships dance 
To the doleful tune of Lachrymce. n 

Gasp. I must tell you 

In private, as you are my princely friend, 
I do not like such fiddlers. 

Bert. No ! They are useful 90 

For your imitation. I remember you, 
When you came first to the court, and talked of nothing 
But your rents and your entradas, ever chiming 
The golden bells in your pockets. You believed 
The taking of the wall as a tribute due to 
Your gaudy clothes ; and could not walk at midnight 
Without a causeless quarrel, as if men 
Of coarser outsides were in duty bound 
To suffer your affronts. But, when you had been 
Cudgelled well twice or thrice, and from the doctrine 100 
Made profitable uses, you concluded 






scene i] THE MAID OF HONOUR 125 

The sovereign means to teach irregular heirs 
Civility, with conformity of manners, 
Were two or three sound beatings. 

Ant. I confess 

They did much good upon me. 

Gasp. And on me. 

The principles that they read were sound. 

Bert. You'll find 

The like instructions in the camp. 

A st. The king ! 

A flourish. Enter Roberto, Fulgentio, Ambassadors, 
and Attendants 

Rob. [Ascends the throne.] We sit prepared to hear. 

Amb. Your majesty 

Hath been long since familiar, I doubt not, 
With the desperate fortunes of my lord ; and pity no 
Of the much that your confederate hath suffered, 
You being his last refuge, may persuade you 
Not alone to compassionate, but to lend 
Your royal aids to stay him in his fall 
To certain ruin. He, too late, is conscious 
That his ambition to encroach upon 
His neighbour's territories, with the danger of 
His liberty, nay, his life, hath brought in question 
His own inheritance. But youth and heat 
Of blood, in your interpretation, may 120 

Both plead and mediate for him. I must grant it 
An error in him, being denied the favours 
Of the fair princess of Siena — though 
He sought her in a noble way — to endeavour 
To force affection, by surprisal of 
Her principal seat, Siena. 

Rob. Which now proves 

The seat of his captivity, not triumph. 
Heaven is still just. 

Amb. And yet that justice is 



126 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act i 

To be with mercy tempered, which Heaven's deputies 

Stand bound to minister. The injured duchess, 130 

By reason taught, as nature could not, with 

The reparation of her wrongs, but aims at 

A brave revenge ; and my lord feels, too late, 

That innocence will find friends. The great Gonzaga, 

The honour of his order — I must praise 

Virtue, though in an enemy — he whose fights 

And conquests hold one number, rallying up 

Her scattered troops, before we could get time 

To victual or to man the conquered city, 

Sat down before it ; and, presuming that 140 

'Tis not to be relieved, admits no parley, 

Our flags of truce hung out in vain. Nor will he 

Lend an ear to composition, but exacts, 

With the rendering up the town, the goods and lives 

Of all within the walls, and of all sexes, 

To be at his discretion. 

Rob. Since injustice 

In your duke meets this correction, can you press us, 
With any seeming argument of reason, 
In foolish pity to' decline his dangers, 
To draw them on ourself ? Shall we not be 150 

Warned by his harms ? The league proclaimed between 

us, 
Bound neither of us further than to aid 
Each other, if by foreign force invaded ; 
And so far in my honour I was tied. 
But since, without our counsel or allowance, 
He hath ta'en arms, with his good leave he must 
Excuse us if we steer not on a rock 
We see and may avoid. Let other monarchs 
Contend to be made glorious by proud war, 
And, with the blood of their poor subjects, purchase 160 
Increase of empire, and augment their cares 
In keeping that which was by wrongs extorted, 
Gilding unjust invasions with the trim 



scene i] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 27 

Of glorious conquests. We, that would be known 
The father of our people, in our study 
And vigilance for their safety, must not change 
Their ploughshares into swords, and force them from 
The secure shade of their own vines, to be 
Scorched with the flames of war ; or, for our sport, 
Expose their lives to ruin. 

Amb. Will you, then, 170 

In his extremity forsake your friend ? 

Rob. No, but preserve ourself. 

Bert, Cannot the beams 

Of honour thaw your icy fears ? 

Rob. Who's that ? 

Bert. A kind of brother, sir, howe'er your subject ; 
Your father's son, and one who blushes that 
You are not heir to his brave spirit and vigour, 
As to his kingdom. 

Rob. How's this ! 

Bert. Sir, to be 

His living chronicle, and to speak his praise, 
Cannot deserve your anger. 

Rob. Where's your warrant 

For this presumption ? 

Bert. Here, sir, in my heart. 180 

Let sycophants, that feed upon your favours, 
Style coldness in you caution, and prefer 
Your ease before your honour, and conclude, 
To eat and sleep supinely is the end 
Of human blessings. I must tell you, sir, 
Virtue, if not in action, is a vice, 
And, when we move not forward, we go backward. 
Nor is this peace, the nurse of drones and cowards, 
Our health, but a disease. 

Gasp. Well urged, my lord. 

Ant. Perfect what is so well begun. 

Amb. And bind 190 

My lord your servant. 



128 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act i 

Rob. Hair-brained fool ! What reason 

Canst thou infer to make this good ? 

Bert. A thousand, 

Not to be contradicted. But consider 
Where your command lies. Tis not, sir, in France, 
Spain, Germany, Portugal, but in Sicily ; 
An island, sir. Here are no mines of gold 
Or silver to enrich you ; no worm spins 
Silk in her womb, to make distinction 
Between you and a peasant in your habits. 
No fish lives near our shores, whose blood can dye 200 
Scarlet or purple; 11 all that we possess, 
With beasts we have in common. Nature did 
Design us to be warriors, and to break through 
Our ring, the sea, by which we are environed ; 
And we by force must fetch in what is wanting 
Or precious to us. Add to this, we are 
A populous nation, and increase so fast 
That, if we by our providence are not sent 
Abroad in colonies, or fall by the sword, 
Not Sicily, though now it were more fruitful 210 

Than when 'twas styled the granary of great Rome, 
Can yield our numerous fry bread. We must starve, 
Or eat up one another. 

A dor. The king hears 

With much attention. 

Ast. And seems moved with what 

Bertoldo hath delivered. 

Bert. May you live long, sir, 

The king of peace, so you deny not us 
The glory of the war. Let not our nerves 
Shrink up with sloth, nor, for want of employment, 
Make younger brothers thieves. It is their swords, sir, 
Must sow and reap their harvest. If examples 220 

May move you more than arguments, look on England, 
The empress of the European isles. 
And unto whom alone ours yields precedence. 



•scene i] THE MAID OF HONOUR 129 

When did she flourish so, as when she was 

The mistress of the ocean, her navies 

Putting a girdle round about the world ? 

When the Iberian quaked, her worthies named ; n 

And the fair flower-de-luce grew pale, set by 

The red rose and the white ! Let not our armour 

Hung up, or our unrigged armada, make us 230 

Ridiculous to the late poor snakes our neighbours, 

Warmed in our bosoms, and to whom again 

We may be terrible ; while we spend our hours 

Without variety, confined to drink, 

Dice, cards, or whores. Rouse us, sir, from the sleep 

Of idleness, and redeem our mortgaged honours. 

Your birth, and justly, claims my father's kingdom, 

But his heroic mind descends to me. 

I will confirm so much. 

Ador. In his looks he seems 

To break ope Janus' temple. n 

A st. How these younglings 240 

Take fire from him ! 

Ador. It works an alteration 

Upon the king. 

Ant. I can forbear no longer. 

War, war, my sovereign ! 

Ful. The king appears 

Resolved, and does prepare to speak. 

Rob. Think not 

Our counsel's built upon so weak a base, 
As to be overturned or shaken with 
Tempestuous winds of words. As I, my lord, 
Before resolved you, I will not engage 
My person in this quarrel ; neither press 
My subjects to maintain it. Yet, to show 250 

My rule is gentle, and that I have feeling 
O' your master's sufferings, since these gallants, weary 
Of the happiness of peace, desire to taste 
The bitter sweets of war, we do consent 



130 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act i 

That, as adventurers and volunteers, 

No way compelled by us, they may make trial 

Of their boasted valours. 

Bert. We desire no more. 

Rob. 'Tis well ; and, but my grant in this, expect not 
Assistance from me. Govern, as you please, 
The province you make choice of ; for, I vow 260 

By all things sacred, if that thou miscarry 
In this rash undertaking, I will hear it 
No otherwise than as a sad disaster 
Fallen on a stranger. Nor will I esteem 
That man my subject, who, in thy extremes, 
In purse or person aids thee. Take your fortune. 
You know me ; I have said it. So, my lord, 
You have my absolute answer. 

Amb. My prince pays, 

In me, his duty. 

Rob. Follow me, Fulgentio, 

And you, Astutio. 

[Flourish. Exeunt Roberto, Fulgentio, Astutio, 
and Attendants. 

Gasp. What a frown he threw, 270 

At his departure, on you ! 

Bert. Let him keep 

His smiles for his state catamite, I care not. 

Ant. Shall we aboard to-night? 

Amb. Your speed, my lord, 

Doubles the benefit. 

Bert. I have a business 

Requires dispatch. Some two hours hence I'll meet you. 

[Exeunt. 



scene 11] THE MAID OF HONOUR 131 

Scene II 

The same. A Room in Camiola's House 

Enter Signior Sylli, walking fantastically, followed by 
Camiola and Clarinda 

Cam. Nay, signior, this is too much ceremony, 
In my own house. 

Syl. What's gracious abroad, 

Must be in private practised. 

Clar. For your mirth's sake 

Let him alone. He has been all this morning 
In practice with a peruked gentleman-usher, n 
To teach him his true amble, and his postures, 

[Sylli walking by, and practising. 
When he walks before a lady. 

Syl. You may, madam, 

Perhaps believe that I in this use art, 
To make you dote upon me, by exposing 
My more than most rare features to your view. 10 

But I, as I have ever done, deal simply ; 
A mark of sweet simplicity, ever noted 
In the family of the Syllis. Therefore, lady, 
Look not with too much contemplation on me ; 
If you do, you are in the suds. n 

Cam. You are no barber ? 

Syl. Fie, no ! not I. But my good parts have drawn 
More loving hearts out of fair ladies' bellies 
Than the whole trade have done teeth. n 

Cam. Is't possible ? 

Syl. Yes, and they live too. Marry, much condoling 
The scorn of their Narcissus, as they call me, 20 

Because I love myself — ■ 

Cam. Without a rival. 

What philtres or love-powders do you use 



132 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act i 

To force affection ? I see nothing in 
Your person but I dare look on, yet keep 
My own poor heart still. 

Syl. You are warned — be armed, 

And do not lose the hope of such a husband 
In being too soon enamoured. 

Clar. Hold in your head, 

Or you must have a martingale. 

Syl. I have sworn 

Never to take a wife, but such a one — 

may your ladyship prove so strong — as can 30 
Hold out a month against me. 

Cam. Never fear it. 

Though your best taking part, your wealth, were trebled, 

1 would not woo you. But since in your pity 
You please to give me caution, tell me what 
Temptations I must fly from. 

Syl. The first is, 

That you never hear me sing, for I'm a siren. 
If you observe, when I warble, the dogs howl, 
As ravished with my ditties ; and you will 
Run mad to hear me. 

Cam. I will stop my ears, 

And keep my little wits. 

Syl. Next, when I dance, 40 

And come aloft thus [capers], cast not a sheep's eye 
Upon the quivering of my calf. 

Cam. Proceed, sir. 

Syl. But on no terms, for 'tis a main point, dream not 
O' the strength of my back, though it will bear a burthen 
With any porter. 

Cam. I mean not to ride you. 

Syl. Nor I your little ladyship, till you have 
Performed the covenants. Be not taken with 
My pretty spider-fingers, nor my eyes, 
That twinkle on both sides. 

Cam. Was there ever such 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 133 

A piece of motley heard of? [A knocking within.} 

Who's that ? [Exit Clarinda.] You may spare 
That catalogue of my dangers. 

Syl. No, good madam ; 51 

I have not told you half. 

Cam. Enough, good signior. 

If I eat more of such sweetmeats, I shall surfeit. — 

Re-enter Clarinda 

Whois't? 

Clar. The brother of the king, 

Syl. Nay, start not. 

The brother of the king ! Is he no more ? 
Were it the king himself, I'd give him leave 
To speak his mind to you, for I am not jealous ; 
And, to assure your ladyship of so much, 
I'll usher him in, and, that done — hide myself. 

[A side j and exit. 

Cam. Camiola, if ever, now be constant. 60 

* This is, indeed, a suitor whose sweet presence, 
Courtship, and loving language, would have staggered 
The chaste Penelope; and, to increase 
The wonder, did not modesty forbid it, 
I should ask that from him he sues to me for : 
And yet my reason, like a tyrant, tells me 
I must nor give nor take it. 

Re-enter Sylli with Bertoldo 

Syl. I must tell you, 

You lose your labour. 'Tis enough to prove it, 
Signior Sylli came before you ; and you know T , 
First come first served. Yet you shall have my coun- 
tenance 70 
To parley with her, and I'll take special care 
That none shall interrupt you. 



134 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act i 

Bert. You are courteous. 

Syl. Come, wench, wilt thou hear wisdom ? 

Clar. Yes, from you, sir. 

[They walk aside. 

Bert. If forcing this sweet favour from your lips, 

[Kisses her. 
Fair madam, argue me of too much boldness, 
When you are pleased to understand I take 
A parting kiss, if not excuse, at least 
Twill qualify the. offence. 

Cam. A parting kiss, sir ! 

What nation, envious of the happiness 
Which Sicily enjoys in your sweet presence, 80 

Can buy you from her ? or what climate yield 
Pleasures transcending those which you enjoy here, 
Being both beloved and honoured ; the north star 
And guider of all hearts ; and, to sum up 
Your full account of happiness in a word, 
The brother of the king ? 

Bert. Do you alone, 

And with an unexampled cruelty, 
Enforce my absence, and deprive me of 
Those blessings which you, with a polished phrase, 
Seem to insinuate that I do possess, 90 

And yet tax me as being guilty of 
My wilful exile ? What are titles to me, 
Or popular suffrage, or my nearness to 
The king in blood, or fruitful Sicily, 
Though it confessed no sovereign but myself, 
When you, that are the essence of my being, 
The anchor of my hopes, the real substance 
Of my felicity, in your disdain, 
Turn all to fading and deceiving shadows? 

Cam. You tax me without cause. 

Bert. You must confess it. 

But answer love with love, and sea! the contract 101 

In the uniting of our souls, how gladly — 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 35 

Though now I were in action, and assured, 
Following my fortune, that plumed Victory 
Would make her glorious stand upon my tent — 
Would I put off my armour, in my heat 
Of conquest, and, like Antony, pursue 
My Cleopatra ! n Will you yet look on me, 
With an eye of favour ? 

Cam. Truth bear witness for me, 

That, in the judgement of my soul, you are no 

A man so absolute and circular 
In all those wished-for rarities that may take 
A virgin captive, that, though at this instant 
All sceptred monarchs of our western world 
Were rivals with you, and Camiola worthy 
Of such a competition, you alone 
Should wear the garland. 

Bert. If so, what diverts 

Your favour from me ? 

Cam. No mulct in yourself, 

Or in your person, mind, or fortune. 

Bert. What then ? 

Cam. The consciousness of mine own wants. Alas ! 
sir, 120 

We are not parallels, but, like lines divided, n 
Can ne'er meet in one centre. Your birth, sir, 
Without addition, were an ample dowry 
For one of fairer fortunes ; and this shape, 
Were you ignoble, far above all value. 
To this so clear a mind, so furnished with 
Harmonious faculties moulded from Heaven, 
That though you were Thersites n in your features, 
Of no descent, and Irus n in your fortunes, 
Ulysses-like you'd force all eyes and ears 130 

To love, but seen ; and, when heard, wonder at 
Your matchless story. But all these bound up 
Together in one volume, — give me leave 
With admiration to look upon them, 



136 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act 1 

But not presume, in my own flattering hopes, 
I may or can enjoy them. 

Bert. How you ruin 

What you would seem to build up ! I know no 
Disparity between us. You're an heir, 
Sprung from a noble family ; fair, rich, young, 
And every way my equal. 

Cam. Sir; excuse me. 140 

One aerie with proportion ne'er discloses 
The eagle and the wren ; tissue and frieze 
In the same garment, monstrous ! But suppose 
That what's in you excessive were diminished, 
And my desert supplied, the stronger bar, 
Religion, stops our entrance. You are, sir, 
A knight of Malta, by your order bound 
To a single life. You cannot marry me ; 
And, I assure myself, you are too noble 
To seek me, though my frailty should consent, 150 

In a base path. 

Bert. A dispensation, lady, 

Will easily absolve me. 

Cam. O take heed, sir ! 

When what is vowed to Heaven is dispensed with n 
To serve our ends on earth, a curse must follow, 
And not a blessing. 

Bert. Is there no hope left me ? 

Cam. Nor to myself, but is a neighbour to 
Impossibility. True love should walk 
On equal feet ; in us it does not, sir. 
But rest assured, excepting this, I shall be 
Devoted to your service. 

Bert. And this is your 160 

Determinate sentence ? 

Cam. Not to be revoked. 

Bert. Farewell then, fairest cruel ! All thoughts in me 
Of women perish. Let the glorious light 
Of noble war extinguish Love's dim taper, 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 137 

That only lends me light to see my folly. 
Honour, be thou my ever-living mistress, 
And fond affection, as thy bond-slave, serve thee ! [Exit. 

Cam. How soon my sun is set, he being absent, 
Never to rise again ! What a fierce battle 
Is fought between my passions ! — Methinks 170 

We should have kissed at parting. 

Syl. I perceive 

.He has his answer. Now must I step in 
To comfort her. * [Comes forward.] You have found, I 

hope, sweet lady, 
Some difference between a youth of my pitch, 
And this bugbear Bertoldo. Men are men, 
The king's brother is no more ; good parts will do it, 
When titles fail. Despair not ; I may be 
In time entreated. 

Cam. Be so now, to leave me. — 

Lights for my chamber. O my heart ! 

[Exeunt Camiola and Clarinda. 

Syl. She now, 

I know, is going to bed, to ruminate 180 

Which way to glut herself upon my person. 
But, for my oath's sake, I will keep her hungry ; 
x\nd, to grow full myself, I'll straight — to supper. [Exit. 



ACT THE SECOND 

Scene I 

The same. A Room in the Palace 

Enter Roberto, Fulgentio, and Astutio 

Rob. Embarked to-night, do you say ? 

Ful. I saw him aboard, sir, 

Rob. And without taking of his leave ? 

A st. 'Twas strange ! 

Rob. Are we grown so contemptible ? 

Ful. 'Tis far 

From me, sir, to add fuel to your anger, 
That, in your ill opinion of him, burns 
Too hot already ; else I should affirm, 
It was a gross neglect. 

Rob. A wilful scorn 

Of duty and allegiance ; you give it 
Too fair a name. But we shall think on't. Can you 
Guess what the numbers were, that followed him 10 

In his desperate action ? 

Ful. More than you think, sir. 

All ill-affected spirits in Palermo, 
Or to your government or person, with 
The turbulent swordsmen, such whose poverty forced them 
To wish a change, are gone along with him ; 
Creatures devoted to his undertakings, 
In right or wrong ; and, to express their zeal 
And readiness to serve him, ere they went, 
Profanely took the sacrament on their knees, 
To live and die with him. 

138 



scene i] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 39 

Rob. O most impious ! 20 

Their loyalty to us forgot ? 

Ful. I fear so. 

Ast. Unthankful as they are ! 

Ful. Yet this deserves not 

One troubled thought in you, sir. With your pardon, 
I hold that their remove from hence makes more 
For your security than danger. 

Rob. True ; 

And, as I'll fashion it, they shall feel it too. 
Astutio, you shall presently be dispatched 
With letters, writ and signed with our own hand, 
To the Duchess of Siena, in excuse 

Of these forces sent against her. If you spare 30 

An oath, to give it credit, that we never 
Consented to it, swearing for the king, 
Though false, it is no perjury. 

A st. I know it. 

They are not fit to be state agents, sir, 
That without scruple of their conscience, cannot 
Be prodigal in such trifles. 

Ful. Right, Astutio. 

Rob. You must, beside, from us take some instruc- 
tions, 
To be imparted, as you judge them useful, 
To the general Gonzaga. Instantly 
Prepare you for your journey. 

A st. With the wings 40 

Of loyalty and duty. [Exit. 

Ful. I am bold 

To put your majesty in mind — 

Rob. Of my promise, 

And aids, to further you in your amorous project 
To the fair and rich Camiola ? There's my ring ; 
Whatever you shall say that I entreat, 
Or can command by power, I will make good. 

Ful. Ever your majesty's creature. 



140 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act ii 

Rob. Venus prove 

Propitious to you ! [Exit. 

Ful. All sorts to my wishes. 

Bertoldo was my hindrance. He removed, 
I now will court her in the conqueror's style, 50 

"Come, see, and overcome. " — Boy ! 

Enter Page 

Page. Sir ; your pleasure ? 

Ful. Haste to Camiola ; bid her prepare 
An entertainment suitable to a fortune 
She could not hope for. Tell her, I vouchsafe 
To honour her with a visit. 

Page. 'Tis a favour 

Will make her proud. 

Ful. I know it. 

Page. I am gone, sir. [Exit. 

Ful. Entreaties fit not me ; a man in grace 
May challenge awe and privilege, by his place. [Exit. 



Scene II 

The same. A Room in Camiola 's House 

Enter Adorni, Sylli, and Clarinda 

A dor. So melancholy, say you ! 

Clar. Never given 

To such retirement. 

A dor. Can you guess the cause? 

Clar. If it hath not its birth and being from 
The brave Bertoldo's absence, I confess 
'Tis past my apprehension. 

Syl. You are wide, 

The whole field wide. I, in my understanding, 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 141 

Pity your ignorance. Yet, if you will 
Swear to conceal it, I will let you know 
Where her shoe wrings her. 

Clar. I vow, signior, 

By my virginity. 

Syl. A perilous oath, 10 

In a waiting- woman of fifteen ! and is, indeed, 
A kind of nothing. 

A dor. I'll take one of something, 

If you please to minister it. 

Syl. Nay, you shall not swear. 

I had rather take your word ; for, should you vow, — 
Damn me, I'll do this, you are sure to break. 

Ador. I thank you, signior; but resolve us. 

Syl. Know, then, 

Here walks the cause. She dares not look upon me ; 
My beauties are so terrible and enchanting, 
She cannot endure my sight. 

Ador. There I believe you. 

Syl. But the time will come, be comforted, when I will 
Put off this vizor of unkindness .to her, 21 

And show an amorous and yielding face ; 
And, until then, though Hercules himself 
Desire to see her, he had better eat 
His club, than pass her threshold ; for I will be 
Her Cerberus, to guard her. 

Ador. A good dog ! 

Clar. Worth twenty porters. 

Enter Page 

Page. Keep you open house here ? 

No groom to attend a gentleman ! O, I spy one. 

Syl. He means not me, I am sure. 

Page. You, sirrah sheep's-head, 

With a face cut on a cat-stick, do you hear ? 30 

You, yeoman fewterer, conduct me to 



142 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act 11 

The lady of the mansion, or my poniard 
Shall disembogue thy soul. 

Syl. O terrible ! " disembogue !" 

I talked of Hercules, and here is one 
Bound up in decimo sexto. 

Page. Answer, wretch. 

Syl. Pray you, little gentleman, be not so furious: 
The lady keeps her chamber. 

Page. And we present, 

Sent in an embassy to her ! But here is 
Her gentlewoman. Sirrah ! hold my cloak, 
While I take a leap at her lips. Do it, and neatly ; 40 
Or, having first tripped up thy heels, I'll make 
Thy back my footstool. [Kisses Clarinda. 

Syl. Tamburlaine in little. 11 

Am I turned Turk ! What an office am I put to ! 

Clar. My lady, gentle youth, is indisposed. 

Page. Though she w r ere dead and buried, only tell her, 
The great man in the court, the brave Fulgentio, 
Descends to visit her, and it will raise her 
Out of the grave for joy. 

Enter Fulgentio 

Syl. Here comes another > 

The devil, I fear, in his holiday clothes. 

Page. So soon ! 

My part is at an end then. Cover my shoulders. 50 

When I grow great, thou shalt serve me. 

Ful. Are you, sirrah, 

An implement of the house ? [To Sylli. 

Syl. Sure he will make 

A jointstool of me ! 

Ful. Or, if you belong [To Adorni. 

To the lady of the place, command her hither. 

A dor. I do not wear her livery, yet acknowledge 
A duty to her; and as little bound 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 143 

To serve your peremptory will, as she is 
To obey your summons. 'Twill become you, sir, 
To wait her leisure ; then, her pleasure known, 
You may present your duty. 

Ful. Duty ! Slave, 60 

I'll teach you manners. 

Ador. I'm past learning. Make not 

A tumult in the house. 

Ful. Shall I be braved thus ? [They draw. 

Syl. O, I am dead ! and now I swoon. 

[Falls on his face. 

Clar. Help ! Murder ! 

Page. Recover, sirrah ; the lady's here. 

Enter Camiola 

Syl. Nay, then 

I am alive again, and I'll be valiant. [Rises. 

Cam. What insolence is this ? Adorni, hold, 
Hold, I command you. 

Ful. Saucy groom ! 

Cam. Not so, sir. 

However in his life he had dependence 
Upon my father, he's a gentleman, 
As well born as yourself. Put on your hat. 70 

Ful. In my presence, without leave ! 

Syl. He has mine, madam. 

Cam. And I must tell you, sir, and in plain language, 
Howe'er your glittering outside promise gentry, 
The rudeness of your carriage and behaviour 
Speaks you a coarser thing. , 

Syl. She means a clown, sir. 

I am her interpreter, for want of a better. 

Cam. I am a queen in mine own house ; nor must you 
Expect an empire here. 

Syl. Sure, I must love her 

Before the day, the pretty soul's so valiant. 



144 THE M AID OF HONOUR [act ii 

Cam. What are you, and what would you with me ? 

Ful. Proud one, 

When you know what I am, and what I came for, 81 
And may, on your submission, proceed to, 
You, in your reason, must repent the coarseness 
Of my entertainment. 

Cam. Why, fine man ? What are you ? 

Ful. A kinsman of the king's. 

Cam. I cry you mercy, 

For his sake, not your own. But grant you are so, 
'Tis not impossible but a king may have 
A fool to his kinsman, — no way meaning you, sir. 

Ful. You have heard of Fulgentio ? 

Cam. Long since, sir ; 

A suit-broker n in court. He has the worst 90 

Report among good men I ever heard of 
For bribery and extortion. In their prayers, 
Widows and orphans curse him for a canker 
And caterpillar in the state. I hope, sir, 
You are not the man ; much less employed by him 
As a smock-agent to me. 

Ful. I reply not 

As you deserve, being assured you know me, 
Pretending ignorance of my person, only 
To give me a taste of your wit. 'Tis well, and courtly ; 
I like a sharp wit well. 

Syl. I cannot endure it; 100 

Nor any of the Syllis. 

Ful. More ; I know too 

This harsh induction must serve as a foil 
To the well-tuned observance and respect 
You will hereafter pay me, being made 
Familiar with my credit with the king, 
And that — contain your joy — I deign to love you. 

Cam. Love me ! I am not rapt with it. 

Ful. Hear't again ; 

I love you honestly. Now you admire me. 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 145 

Cam. I do, indeed; it being a word so seldom 
Heard from a courtier's mouth. But, pray you, deal 
plainly, no 

Since you find me simple. What might be the motives 
Inducing you to leave the freedom of 
A bachelor's life, on your soft neck to wear 
The stubborn yoke of marriage, and, of all 
The beauties in Palermo, to choose me, 
Poor me ? That is the main point you must treat of. 

Ful. Why, I will tell you. Of a little thing 
You are a pretty peat, indifferent fair too ; 
And, like a new-rigged ship, both tight and yare, 
Well trussed to bear. Virgins of giant size 120 

Are sluggards at the sport. But, for my pleasure, 
Give me a neat well-timbered gamester like you ; 
Such need no spurs, — the quickness of your eye 
Assures an active spirit. 

Cam. You are pleasant, sir. 

Yet I presume that there was one thing in me, 
Unmentioned yet, that took you more than all 
Those parts you have remembered. 

Ful. What? 

Cam. My wealth, sir. 

Ful. You are in the right ; without that, beauty is 
A flower worn in the morning, at night trod on. 
But beauty, youth, and fortune meeting in you, 130 

I will vouchsafe to marry you. 

Cam. You speak well ; 

And, in return, excuse me, sir, if I 
Deliver reasons why, upon no terms, 
I'll marry you. I fable not. 

Syl. I am glad 

To hear this. I began to have an ague. 

Ful. Come, your wise reasons. 

Cam. Such as they are, pray you take them. 

First, I am doubtful whether you are a man, 
Since, for your shape, trimmed up in a lady's dressing, 



146 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act ii 

You might pass for a woman. Now I love 

To deal on certainties : and, for the fairness 140 

Of your complexion, which you think will take me, 

The colour, I must tell you, in a man, 

Is weak and faint, and never will hold out, 

If put to labour. Give me the lovely brown, 

A thick curled hair of the same dye, broad shoulders, 

A brawny arm full of veins, a leg without 

An artificial calf — I suspect yours — 

But let that pass. 

Syl. She means me all this while, 

For I have every one of those good parts. 

Sylli ! fortunate Sylli ! 

Cam. You are moved, sir. 150 

Ful. Fie ! no. Go on. 

Cam. Then, as you are a courtier, 

A graced one too, I fear you have been too forward; 
And so much for your person. Rich you are, 
Devilish rich, as 'tis reported, and sure have 
The aids of Satan's little fiends to get it ; 
And what is got upon his back, must be 
Spent, you know where ; the proverb's stale. 11 One word 

more, 
And I have done. 

Ful. I'll ease you of the trouble, 

Coy and disdainful ! 

Cam. Save me, or else he'll beat me. 

Ful. No, your own folly shall ; and, since you put me 
To my last charm, look upon this, and tremble. 161 

[Shows the king's ring. 

Cam. At the sight of a fair ring ! The king's, I take it ? 

1 have seen him wear the like. If he hath sent it, 
As a favour, to me — 

Ful. Yes, 'tis very likely, 

His dying mother's ^ift, prized as his crown ! 
By (liis he docs command you to be mine; 
\ly his gift you arc so. You may yet redeem all. 



scene u] THE MAID OF HONOUR 147 

Cam. You are in a wrong account still. Though the 
king may 
Dispose of my life and goods, my mind's mine own, 
And never shall be yours. The king ; Heaven bless 
him, 170 

Is good and gracious, and, being in himself 
Abstemious from base and goatish looseness, 
Will not compel, against their wills, chaste maidens 
To dance in his minion's circles. I believe, 
Forgetting it when he washed his hands, you stole it, 
With an intent to awe me. But you are cozened; 
I am still myself, and will be. 

Ful. A proud haggard, 

And not to be reclaimed ! Which of your grooms, 
Your coachman, fool, or footman, ministers 
Night-physic to you ? 

Cam. You are foul-mouthed. 

Ful. Much fairer 

Than thy black soul ; and so I will proclaim thee. 181 

Cam. Were I a man, thou durst not speak this. 

Ful. Heaven 

So prosper me, as I resolve to do it 
To all men, and in every place. Scorned by 
A tit of tenpence ! [Exeunt Fulgentio and Page. 

Syl. Now I begin to be valiant : 

Nay, I will draw my sword. O for a brother ! 
Do a friend's part; pray you, carry him the length 

oft. 
I give him three years and a day to match my Toledo, 
And then we'll fight like dragons. 

Ador. Pray, have patience. 

Cam. I may live to have vengeance. My Bertoldo 
Would not have heard this. 

Ador. Madam, — 

Cam. Pray you, spare 

Your language. Prithee fool, and make me merry. 192 

[To Sylli. 



148 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act ii 

Syl. That is my office ever. 
Ador. I must do, 

Not talk. This glorious gallant shall hear from me 

[Exeunt. 

Scene III 
The Sienese. A Camp before the Walls of Siena 

Chambers shot of. A flourish as to an Assault; after 
which, enter Gonzaga, Pierio, Roderigo, Jacomo, 
and Soldiers 

Gonz. Is the breach made assaultable ? 

Pier. Yes, and the moat 

Filled up. The cannoneer hath done his parts ; 
We may enter six abreast. 

Rod. There's not a man 

Dares show himself upon the wall-. 

Jac. Defeat not 

The soldiers' hoped-for spoil. 

Pier. If you, sir, 

Delay the assault, and the city be given up 
To your discretion, you in honour cannot 
Use the extremity of war ; but, in 
Compassion to them, you to us prove cruel. 

Jac. And an enemy to yourself. 

Rod. A hindrance to 10 

The brave revenge you have vowed. 

Gonz. Temper your heat, 

And lose not, by too sudden rashness, that 
Which, be but patient, will be offered to you. 
Security ushers ruin ; proud contempt 
Of an enemy three parts vanquished, with desire 
And greediness of spoil, have often wrested 
A certain victory from the conqueror's gripe, 
Discretion is the tutor of the war, 



scene in] THE MAID OF HONOUR 149 

Valour the pupil ; and, when we command 

With lenity, and our direction's followed 20 

With cheerfulness, a prosperous end must crown 

Our works well undertaken. 

Rod. Ours are finished — 

Pier, If we make use of fortune. 

Gonz. Her false smiles 

Deprive you of your judgements. The condition 
Of our affairs exacts a double care, 
And, like bifronted Janus, we must look 
Backward, as forward. Though a flattering calm 
Bids us urge on, a sudden tempest raised, 
Not feared, much less expected, in our rear, 
May foully fall upon us, and distract us 30 

To our confusion. 

Enter a Scout, hastily 

Our scout ! — What brings 
Thy ghastly looks, and sudden speed ? 

Scout. The assurance 

Of a new enemy. 

Gonz. This I foresaw and feared. 

What are they, know'st thou ? 

Scout. They are, by their colours, 

Sicilians, bravely mounted, and the brightness 
Of their rich armours doubly gilded with 
Reflection of the sun. 

Gonz. From Sicily? 

The king in league ! No war proclaimed ! 'Tis foul. 
But this must be prevented, not disputed. 
Ha, how is this ? Your estridge plumes, that but 40 
Even now, like quills of porcupines, seemed to threaten 
The stars, drop at the rumour of a shower, 
And, like to captive colours, sweep the earth ! 
Bear up ; but in great dangers, greater minds 
Are never proud. Shall a few loose troops, untrained, 



150 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act u 

But in a customary ostentation, 
Presented as a sacrifice to your valours, 
Cause a dejection in you ? 

Pier. No dejection. 

Rod. However startled, where you lead we'll follow. 

Gonz. 'Tis bravely said. We will not stay their 
charge, 5 o 

But meet them man to man, and horse to horse. 
Pierio, in our absence hold our place, 
And with our footmen, and those sickly troops, 
Prevent a sally. I in mine own person, 
With part of the cavallery, will bid 
These hunters welcome to a bloody breakfast. 
But I lose time. 

Pier. I'll to my charge. [Exit 

Gonz. And we 

To ours. I'll bring you on. 

Jac. If we come off, 

It's not amiss. If not, my state is settled. 

[Exeunt. Alarum within. 



Scene IV 

The Same. The Citadel of Siena 

Enter Ferdinand, Druso, and Livio, on the Walls 

Per. No aids from Sicily ! Hath hope forsook us, 
And that vain comfort to affliction, pity, 
By our vowed friend denied us.? We can nor live 
Nor die with honour. Like beasts in a toil, 
We wait the leisure of the bloody hunter, 
Who is not so far reconciled unto us, 
As in one death to give a period 
To our calamities; but in delaying, 
The late we cannot ily from, starved with wants, 



! 



scene iv] THE MAID OF HONOUR 151 

We die this night, to live again to-morrow, 10 

And suffer greater torments. 

Dru. There is not 

Three days' provision for every soldier, 
At an ounce of bread a day, left in the city. 

Liv. To die the beggar's death, with hunger made 
Anatomies while we live, cannot but crack 
Our heart-strings with vexation. 

Fer. Would they would break, 

Break altogether ! How willingly, like Cato, 
Could I tear out my bowels, rather than 
Look on the conqueror's insulting face, 
But that religion, and the horrid dream 20 

To be suffered in the other world, denies it ! 

Enter a Soldier 

What news with thee ? 

Sold. From the turret of the fort, 

By the rising clouds of dust, through which, like lightning 
The splendour of bright arms sometimes brake through, 
I did descry some forces making towards us ; 
And, from the camp, as emulous of their glory, 
The general — for I know him by his horse — 
And bravely seconded, encountered them. 
Their greetings were too rough for friends ; their swords, 
And not their tongues, exchanging courtesies. 30 

By this the main battalias are joined ; 
And, if you please to be spectators of 
The horrid issue, I will bring you where, 
As in a theatre, you may see their fates 
In purple gore presented. 

Fer. Heaven, if yet 

Thou art appeased for my wrong done to Aurelia, 
Take pity of my miseries ! Lead the way, friend. 

[Exeunt. 



152 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act n 

Scene V 

The same. A Plain near the Camp 

A long Charge; after which, a Flourish for victory. Then 
enter Gonzaga, Jacomo, and Rodertgo wounded; 
Bertoldo, Gasparo, and Antonio Prisoners. Offi- 
cers and Soldiers 

Gonz. We have them yet, though they cost us dear. 
This was 
Charged home, and bravely followed. Be to yourselves 

[To Jacomo and Roderigo. 
True mirrors to each other's worth ; and, looking 
With noble emulation on his wounds, 

[Points to Bertoldo. 
The glorious livery of triumphant war, 
Imagine these with equal grace appear 
Upon yourselves. The bloody sweat you have suffered 
In this laborious, nay, toilsome harvest, 
Yields a rich crop of conquest ; and the spoil, 
Most precious balsam to a soldier's hurts, 10 

Will ease and cure them. Let me look upon 
The prisoners' faces. 

[Gasparo and Antonio are brought forward. 
O how much transformed 
From what they were ! O Mars ! were these toys fash- 
ioned 
To undergo the burthen of thy service ? 
The weight of their defensive armour bruised 
Their weak effeminate limbs, and would have forced 

them, 
In a hot day, without a blow to yield. 

Ant. This insultation shows not manly in you. 
Gonz. To men I had forborne it. You are women, 
Or, at the best, loose carpet-knights. What fury 20 

Seduced you to exchange your ease in court 



scene v] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 53 

For labour in the field ? Perhaps you thought, 

To charge, through dust and blood, an armed foe 

Was but like graceful running at the ring 

For a wanton mistress' glove ; and the encounter, 

A soft impression on her lips. But you 

Are gaudy butterflies, and I wrong myself 

In parling with you. 

Gasp. Vce metis I n Now we prove it. 

(Rod. But here's one fashioned in another mould, 
And made of tougher metal. 

Gonz. True ; I owe him 30 

For this wound bravely given. 

Bert. [Aside.] that mountains 

Were heaped upon me, that I might expire, 
A wretch no more remembered ! 

Gonz. Look up, sir. 

To be o'ercome deserves no shame. If you 
Had fallen ingloriously, or could accuse 
Your want of courage in resistance, 'twere 
To be lamented. But, since you performed 
As much as could be hopedjor from a man — 
Fortune his enemy — you wrong yourself 
In this dejection. I am honoured in 40 

My victory over you ; but to have these 
My prisoners is, in my true judgement; rather 
Captivity than a triumph. You shall find 
Fair quarter from me, and your many wounds, 
Which I hope are not mortal, with such care 
Looked to and cured, as if your nearest friend 
Attended on you. 

Bert. When you know me better 

You will make void this promise. Can you call me 
Into your memory ? 

Gonz. The brave Bertoldo ! 

A brother of our order ! By Saint John, 50 

Our holy patron, I am more amazed, 
Nay, thunderstruck with thy apostasy 



154 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act n 

And precipice from the most solemn vows 
Made unto Heaven when this, the glorious badge 
Of our Redeemer, was conferred upon thee 
By the great master, than if I had seen 
A reprobate Jew, an atheist, Turk, or Tartar, 
Baptized in our religion ! 

Bert. This I looked for, 

And am resolved to suffer. 

Gonz. Fellow-soldiers, 

Behold this man, and, taught by his example, 60 

Know that 'tis safer far to play with lightning, 
Than trifle in things sacred. In my rage [Weeps, 

I shed these at the funeral of his virtue, 
Faith, and religion, — why, I will tell you. 
He was a gentleman so trained up and fashioned 
For noble uses, and his youth did promise 
Such certainties, more than hopes, of great achievements, 
As — if the Christian world had stood opposed 
Against the Othoman race, to try the fortune 
Of one encounter — this Bertoldo had been, 70 

For his knowledge to direct* and matchless courage 
To execute, without a rival, by 
The votes of good men, chosen general, 
As the prime soldier, and most deserving 
Of all that wear the cross ; which now, in justice, 
I thus tear from him. 

Bert. Let me die with it 

Upon my breast. 

Gonz. No. By this thou wert sworn, 

On all occasions, as a knight, to guard 
Weak ladies from oppression, and never 
To draw thy sword against them : whereas thou, 80 

In hope of gain or glory, when a princess, 
And such a princess as Aurelia is, 
Was dispossessed by violence, of what was 
Her true inheritance, against thine oath 
Hast, to thy uttermost, laboured to uphold 



scene v] THE MAID OF HONOUR 155 

Her falling enemy. But thou shalt pay 

A heavy forfeiture, and learn too late, 

Valour employed in an ill quarrel turns 

To cowardice, and Virtue then puts on 

Foul Vice's visor. This is that which cancels 90 

All friendship's bands between us. — Bear tjiem off. 

I will hear no reply ; and let the ransom 

Of these, for they are yours, be highly rated. 

In this I do but right, and let it be 

Styled justice, and not wilful cruelty. [Exeunt. 



ACT THE THIRD 

Scene I 

The same. A Camp before the Walls of Siena 

Enter Gonzaga, Astutio, Roderigo, and Jacomo 

Gonz. What I have done, sir, by the law of arms 
I can and will make good. 

A st. I have no commission 

To expostulate the act. These letters speak 
The king my master's love to you, and his 
Vowed service to the duchess, on whose person 
I am to give attendance. 

Gonz. At this instant, 

She's at Fienza. You may spare the trouble 
Of riding thither. I have advertised her 
Of our success, and on what humble terms 
Siena stands. Though presently I can 
Possess it, I defer it, that she may 
Enter her own, and, as she please, dispose of 
The prisoners and the spoil. 

A st. I thank you, sir. 

In the mean time, if I may have your licence, 
I have a nephew, and one once my ward, 
For whose liberties and ransoms I would gladly 
Make composition. 

Gonz. They are, as I take it, 

Called Gasparo and Antonio. 

Ast. The same, sir. 

Gonz. For them, you must treat with these. But for 
Bertoldo, 

156 









scene i] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 57 

He is mine own. If the king will ransom him, 20 

He pays down fifty thousand crowns ; if not, 
He lives and dies my slave. 

Ast. [Aside to Gonzaga.] Pray, you, a word. 
The king will rather thank you to detain him, 
Than give one crown to free him. 

Gonz. At his pleasure. 

I'll send the prisoners under guard. My business 
Calls me another way. [Exit. 

Ast. My service waits you. 

Now, gentlemen, do not deal like merchants with me, 
But noble captains; you know, in great minds, 
' Posse et nolle, nob He. n 

Rod. Pray you, speak 

Our language. 

Jac. I find not, in my commission, 30 

An officer's bound to speak or understand 
More than his mother tongue. 

Rod. If he speak that 

After midnight, 'tis remarkable. 

Ast. In plain terms, then, 

Antonio is your prisoner ; Gasparo, yours. 

Jac. You are in the right. 

Ast. At what sum do you rate 

Their several ransoms ? 

Rod. I must make my market 

As the commodity cost me. 

Ast. As it cost you ! 

You did not buy your captainship ? Your desert, 
I hope, advanced you. 

Rod. How ! It well appears 

You are no soldier. Desert in these days ! 4^ 

Desert may make a serjeant to a colonel, 
And it may hinder him from rising higher ; 
But, if it ever get a company, 
A company, pray you mark me, without money, 
Or private service done for the general's mistress, 



158 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act in 

With a commendatory epistle from her, 
I will turn lanceprezado. 

Jac. Pray you observe, sir: 

I served two prenticeships, just fourteen years, 
Trailing the puissant pike, and half so long 
Had the right-hand file; and I fought well, 'twas said, 
too. 50 

But I might have served, and fought, and served till 

doomsday, 
And ne'er have carried a flag, but for the legacy 
A buxom widow of threescore bequeathed me ; 
And that too, my back knows, I laboured hard for, 
But was better paid. 

Ast. You are merry with yourselves. 

But this is from the purpose. 

Rod. To the point then. 

Prisoners are not ta'en every day ; and, when 
We have them, we must make the best use of them. 
Our pay is little to the port we should bear, n 
And that so long a coming, that 'tis spent 60 

Before we have it, and hardly wipes off scores 
At the tavern and the ordinary. 

Jac. You may add, too, 

Our sport ta'en up on trust. 

Rod. Peace, thou smock- vermin! 

Discover commanders' secrets ! In a word, sir, 
We have inquired, and found our prisoners rich. 
Two thousand crowns apiece our companies cost us ; 
And so much each of us will have, and that 
In present pay. 

Jac. It is too little. Yet, 

Since you have said the word, I am content; 
But will not go a gazet n less. 

Ast. Since you are not 70 

To be brought lower, there is no evading; 
I'll be your paymaster. 

Rod. We desire no better. 



scene i] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 59 

Ast. But not a word of what's agreed between us, 
Till I have schooled my gallants. 
Jac. I am dumb, sir. 

Enter a Guard with Bertoldo, Antonio, and Gasparo, 
in irons 

Bert. And where removed now? Hath the tyrant 
found out 
Worse usage for us ? 

Ant. Worse it cannot be. _ 

My greyhound has fresh straw, and scraps, in his kennel ; 
But we have neither. 

Gasp. Did I ever think 

To wear such garters on silk stockings ? or 
That my too curious appetite that turned 80 

At the sight of godwits, pheasant, partridge, quails, 
Larks, woodcocks, calvered salmon, as coarse diet, 
Would leap at a mouldy crust ? 

Ant. And go without it 

So oft as I do ? O ! how have I jeered 
The city entertainment ! A huge shoulder 
Of glorious fat ram-mutton, seconded 
With a pair of tame cats or conies, a crab-tart, 
With a worthy loin of veal, and valiant capon 
Mortified to grow tender, — these I scorned, 
From their plentiful horn of abundance though invited. 
But now I could carry my own stool to a tripe 91 

And call their chitterlings charity, and bless the founder. 

Bert. O that I were no further sensible 
Of my miseries than you are ! You, like beasts, 
Feel only stings of hunger, and complain net 
But when you're empty. But your narrow souls — 
If you have any — cannot comprehend 
How insupportable the torments are 
Which a free and noble soul, made captive, suffers. 
Most miserable men ! And what am I, then, 100 



160 THE MAI1> OF HONOUR [act in 

That envy you ? Fetters, though made of gold, 

Express base thraldom ; and all delicates 

Prepared by Median cooks for epicures, 

When not our own, are bitter. Quilts filled high 

With gossamer and roses, cannot yield 

The body soft repose, the mind kept waking 

With anguish and affliction. 

Ast. My good lord — 

Bert. This is no time nor place for flattery, sir. 
Pray you, style me as I am, a wretch forsaken 
Of the world, as myself. 

A st. I would it were no 

In me to help you. 

Bert. If that you want power, sir, 

Lip-comfort cannot cure me. Pray you, leave me 
To mine own private thoughts. [Walks by. 

Ast. [Comes forward.] My valiant nephew ! 

And my more than warlike ward ! I am glad to see 

you, 
After your glorious conquests. Are these chains, 
Rewards for your good service ? If they are, 
You should wear them on your necks, since they are 

massy, 
Like aldermen of the war. 

Ant. You jeer us too ! 

Gasp. Good uncle, name not, as you are a man of 
honour, 
That fatal word of war; the very sound of it 120 

Is more dreadful than a cannon. 

Ant. But redeem us 

From this captivity, and I'll vow hereafter 
Never to wear a sword, or cut my meat 
With a knife that has an edge or point ; I'll starve first. 

Gasp. I will cry broom, or cat's meat, 11 in Palermo, 
Turn porter, carry burthens, anything, 
Rather than live a soldier. 

A st. This should have 



scene i] THE MAID OF HONOUR 161 

Been thought upon before. At what price, think you, 
Your two wise heads are rated ? 

Ant. A calf's head is 

More worth than mine. I'm sure it has more brains in't, 
Or I had ne'er come here. 

Rod. And I will eat it 131 

With bacon, if I have not speedy ransom. 

Ant. And a little garlic too, for your own sake, sir. 
'Twill boil in your stomach else. 

Gasp. Beware of mine, 

Or the horns may choke you ; I am married, sir. 

Ant. You shall have my row of houses near the palace. 

Gasp. And my villa ; all — 

Ant. All that we have, 

Ast. Well, have more wit hereafter; for this time, 
You are ransomed. 

Jac. Off with their irons. 

Rod. Do, do. 

If you are ours again, you know your price. 140 

Ant. Pray you dispatch us. I shall ne'er believe 
I am a free man, till I set my foot 
In Sicily again, and drink Palermo, 
And in Palermo too. 

Ast. The wind sits fair, 

You shall aboard to-night ; with the rising sun 
You may touch upon the coast. But take your leaves 
Of the late general first. 

Gasp. I will be brief. 

A nt. And I. My lord, Heaven keep you ! 

Gasp. Yours, to use 

In the way of peace ; but as your soldiers, never. 

Ant. A pox of war ! no more of war. 

[Exeunt Roderigo, Jacomo, Antonio, and Gasparo. 

Bert. Have you 150 

Authority to loose their bonds, yet leave 
The brother of your king, whose worth disdains 
Comparison with such as these, in irons ? 



1 62 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act hi 

If ransom may redeem them, I have lands, 
A patrimony of mine own, assigned me 
By my deceased sire, to satisfy 
Whate'er can be demanded for my freedom. 

Ast. I wish you had, sir. But the king, who yields 
No reason for his will, in his displeasure 
Hath seized on all you had ; nor will Gonzaga, 160 

Whose prisoner now you are, accept of less 
Than fifty thousand crowns. 

Bert. I find it now, 

That misery never comes alone. But, grant 
The king is yet inexorable, time 
May work him to a feeling of my sufferings. 
I have friends that swore their lives and fortunes were 
At my devotion, and, among the rest, 
Yourself, my lord, when forfeited to the law 
For a foul murder, and in cold blood done, 
I made your life my gift, and reconciled you 170 

To this incensed king, and got your pardon. 
Beware ingratitude. I know you are rich, 
And may pay down the sum. 

Ast. I might, my lord ; 

But pardon me. 

Bert. And will Astutio prove, then, 

To please a passionate man — the king's no more — 
False to his maker and his reason, which 
Commands more than I ask ? O summer-friendship, 
Whose flattering leaves, that shadowed us in our 
Prosperity, with the least gust drop off 
In the autumn of adversity ! How like 180 

A prison is to a grave ! When dead, we are 
Witli solemn pomp brought thither, and our heirs 
Masking their joy in false, dissembled tears, 
Weep o'er the hearse. But earth no sooner covers 
The earth brought thither, but they turn away 
Willi inward smiles, the dead no more remembered. 
So, entered in a prison — 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 163 

Ast. My occasions 

Command me hence, my lord. 

Bert. Pray you, leave me, do ; 

And tell the cruel king, that I will wear 
These fetters till my flesh and they are one 190 

Incorporated substance. [Exit Astutio.] In myself, 
As in a glass, I'll look on human frailty, 
And curse the height of royal blood. Since I, 
In being born near to Jove, am near his thunder. 
Cedars once shaken with a storm, their own 
Weight grubs their roots out. Lead me where you 

please. 
I am his, not fortune's martyr, and will die 
The great example of his cruelty. [Exit guarded. 



Scene II 

Palermo. A Grove near the Palace 

Enter Adorni 

Ador. He undergoes my challenge and contemns it, 
And threatens me with the late edict made 
'Gainst duellists, — the altar cowards fly to. 
But I, that am engaged, and nourish in me 
A higher aim than fair Camiola dreams of, 
Must not sit down thus. In the court I dare not 
Attempt him ; and in public, he's so guarded, 
With a herd of parasites, clients, fools, and suitors 
That a musket cannot reach him. My designs 
Admit of no delay. This is her birthday , 
Which, with a fit and due solemnity, 
Camiola celebrates ; and on it, all such 
As love or serve her usually present 
A tributary duty. I'll have something 
To give, if my intelligence prove true. 



1 64 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act 'in 

Shall find acceptance. I am told, near this grove 
Fulgentio, every morning, makes his markets 
With his petitioners ; I may present him 
With a sharp petition ! Ha ! 'tis he. My fate 
Be ever blessed for't ! 

Enter Fulgentio and Page 

Fid. Command such as wait me 20 

Not to presume, at the least for half an hour, 
To press on my retirements. 

Page. I will say, sir, 

You are at your prayers. 

Ful. That will not find belief ; 

Courtiers have something else to do. Be gone, sir. 

[Exit Page. 
Challenged ! 'tis well ; and by a groom ! Still better. 
Was this shape made to fight ? I have a tongue yet, 
Howe'er no sword, to kill him ; and what way, 
This morning I'll resolve of. [Exit. 

A dor. I shall cross 

Your resolution, or suffer for you. [Exit following him. 



Scene III 

The same. A Room in Camiola's House 

Enter Camiola, followed by Servants with Presents; 
Sylli and Clarinda 

Syl. What are all these ? 

( 'lar. Servants with several presents, 

And rich ones too. 

Tst Serv. With her best, wishes, madam, 

Of many such days to you, the Lady Petula 
ints you with this fan. 



THE MAID OF HONOUR 165 

2d Serv. ^ This diamond, 

From your aunt Honoria. 

3d Serv. This piece of plate 

From your uncle, old Vicentio, with your arms 
Graven upon it. 

Cam. Good friends, they are too 

Munificent in their love and favour to me. 
Out of my cabinet return such jewels 
As this directs you. — [To Clarinda.] For your pains ; 
and yours ; 10 

Nor must you be forgotten. [Gives them money. 

Honour me 
With the drinking of a health. 

1st Serv. Gold, on my life ! 

2nd Serv. She scorns to give base silver. 

$rd Serv. Would she had been 

Born every month in the year ! 

1st Serv. Month ! every day. 

2nd Serv. Show such another maid. 

3rd Serv. All happiness w^ait you ! 

Clar. I'll see your will done. 

[Exeunt Sylli, Clarinda, and Servants. 

Enter Adorni wounded 

Cam. How, Adorni w T ounded ! 

Ador. A scratch got in your sendee, else not worth 
Your observation. I bring not, madam, 
In honour of your birthday, antique plate, 
Or pearl for which the savage Indian dives 20 

Into the bottom of the sea ; nor diamonds 
Hewn from steep rocks with danger. Such as give 
To those that have, what they themselves want, aim at 
A glad return with profit. Yet, despise not 
My offering at the altar of your favour, 
Nor let the lowness of the giver lessen 
The height of what's presented, since it is 



166 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act hi 

A precious jewel, almost forfeited, 

And dimmed with clouds of infamy, redeemed, 

And, in its natural splendour, with addition 30 

Restored to the true owner. 

Cam. How is this ? 

A dor. Not to hold you in suspense, I bring you, 
madam, 
Your wounded reputation cured, the sting 
Of virulent malice, festering your fair name, 
Plucked out and trod on. That proud man, that was 
Denied the honour of your bed, yet durst, 
With his untrue reports, strumpet your fame, 
Compelled by me, hath given himself the lie, 
And in his own blood wrote it. You may read 
Fulgentio subscribed. [Offering a paper. 

Cam. I am amazed ! 40 

Ador. It does deserve it, madam. Common service 
Is fit for hinds, and the reward proportioned 
To their conditions ; therefore, look not on me 
As a follower of your father's fortunes, or 
One that subsists on yours. You frown ! My service 
Merits not this aspect. 

Cam. Which of my favours, 

I might say bounties, hath begot and nourished 
This more than rude presumption ? Since you had 
An itch to try your desperate valour, wherefore 
Went you not to the war ? Couldst thou suppose 50 
My innocence could ever fall so low 
As to have need of thy rash sword to guard it 
Against malicious slander ? O how much 
Those ladies are deceived and cheated when 
The clearness and integrity of their actions 
Do not defend themselves, and stand secure 
On their own bases ! Such as in a colour 
Of seeming service give protection to them, 
Betray their own strengths. Malice scorned, puts out 
Itself; but argued, gives a kind of credit 60 



scene m] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 67 

To a false accusation. In this, your 

Most memorable service, you believed 

You did me right. But you have wronged me more 

In your defence of my undoubted honour 

Than false Fulgentio could. 

A dor. I am sorry what was 

So well intended is so ill received ; 

Re-enter Clarinda 

Yet, under your correction, you wished 
Bertoldo had been present. 

Cam. True, I did. 

But he and you, sir, are not parallels, 
Nor must you think yourself so. 

A dor. I am what 70 

You'll please to have me. 

Cam. If Bertoldo had 

Punished Fulgentio's insolence, it had shown 
His love to her whom, in his judgement, he 
Vouchsafed to make his w T if e ; a height, I hope 
Which you dare not aspire to. The same actions 
Suit not all men alike, But I perceive 
Repentance in your looks. Eor this time, leave me. 
I may forgive, perhaps forget, your folly. 
Conceal yourself till this storm be blown over. 
You will be sought for, yet, if my estate 80 

[Gives him her hand to kiss. 
Can hinder it, shall not suffer in my sendee. 

Ador. [Aside.] This is something yet, though I missed 
the mark I shot at. [Exit. 

Cam. This gentleman is of a noble temper, 
And I too harsh, perhaps, in my reproof. 
Was I not, Clarinda ? 

Clar. I am not to censure 

Your actions, madam. But there are a thousand 



1 68 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act hi 

Ladies, and of good fame, in such a cause 
Would be proud of such a servant. 
Cam. It may be; 

Enter a Servant 

Let me offend in this kind. Why, uncalled for ? 

Serv. The signiors, madam, Gasparo and Antonio, 90 
Selected friends of the renowned Bertoldo, 
Put ashore this morning. 

Cam. Without him ? 

Serv. I think so. 

Cam. Never think more then. 

Serv. They have been at court, 

Kissed the king's hand, and, their first duties done 
To him, appear ambitious to tender 
To you their second service. 

Cam. Wait them hither. 

[Exit Servant. 
Fear, do not rack me ! Reason, now, if ever, 
Haste with thy aids, and tell me, such a wonder 
As my Bertoldo is, with such care fashioned, 
Must not, nay, cannot, in Heaven's providence ioo 

Enter Antonio and Gasparo 

So soon miscarry ! Pray you, forbear ; ere you take 
The privilege, as strangers, to salute me — 
Excuse my manners — make me first understand 
How it is with Bertoldo. 

Gasp. The relation 

Will not, I fear, deserve your thanks. 

- 1 ///. I wish 

Some other should inform you. 

Cam. Is he dead? 

though with some fear, I dare inquire it. 

Gasp. Head! Would that were the worst; a debt 
re paid then, 



scene in] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 69 

Kings in their birth owe nature. 

Cam. Is there aught 

More terrible than death ? 

Ant. Yes, to a spirit no 

Like his ; cruel imprisonment, and that 
Without the hope of freedom. 

Cam. You abuse me. 

The royal king cannot, in love to virtue — 
Though all springs of affection were dried up — 
But pay his ransom. 

Gasp. When you know what 'tis, 

You will think otherwise. No less will do it 
Than fifty thousand crowns. 

Cam. A petty sum, 

The price weighed with the purchase. Fifty thousand ! 
To the king 'tis nothing. He that can spare more 
To his minion for a masque, cannot but ransom 120 

Such a brother at a million. You wrong 
The king's magnificence. 

Ant. In your opinion ; 

But 'tis most certain. He does not alone 
In himself refuse to pay it, but forbids 
All other men. 

Cam. Are you sure of this ? 

Gasp. You may read 

The edict to that purpose, published by him 
That will resolve you. 

Cam. Possible ! Pray you, stand off. 

If I do not mutter treason to myself, 
My heart will break ; and yet I will not curse him. 
He is my king. The news you have delivered 150 

Makes me weary of your company. We'll salute 
When we meet next. I'll bring you to the door. 
Nay, pray you, no more compliments. 

Gasp. One thing more, 

And that's substantial. Let your Adorni 
Look to himself. 



170 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act in 

Ant. The king is much incensed 

Against him for Fulgentio. 

Cam. As I am, 

For your slowness to depart. 

Both. Farewell, sweet lady. 

[Exeunt Gasparo and Antonio. 

Cam. O more than impious times ! When not alone 
Subordinate ministers of justice are 
Corrupted and seduced, but kings themselves, 140 

The greater wheels by which the lesser move, 
Are broken or disjointed ! Could it be else, 
A king, to sooth his politic ends, should so far 
Forsake his honour as at once to break 
The adamant chains of nature and religion, 
To bind up atheism as a defence 
To his dark counsels ? Will it ever be, 
That to deserve too much is dangerous, 
And virtue, when too eminent, a crime ? 
Must she serve fortune still, or, when stripped of 150 

Her gay and glorious favours, lose the beauties 
Of her own natural shape ? O my Bertoldo, 
Thou only sun in honour's sphere, how soon 
Art thou eclipsed and darkened ! not the nearness 
Of blood prevailing on the king ; nor all 
The benefits to the general good dispensed, 
Gaining a retribution ! But that 
To owe a courtesy to a simple virgin 
Would take from the deserving, I find in me 
Some sparks of fire, which, fanned with honour's breath, 
Might rise into a flame, and in men darken 161 

Their usurped splendour. Ha ! my aim is high, 
And, for the honour of my sex, to fall so, 
Can never prove inglorious. — 'Tis resolved : 
Call in Adorni. 

Clar. I am happy in 

Such an employment, madam. 

( dm. He's a man, 



scene in] THE MAID OF HONOUR 171 

I know, that at a reverent distance loves me ; 

And such are ever faithful. What a sea 

Of melting ice I walk on ! What strange censures 

Am I to undergo ! But good intents 170 

Deride all future rumours. 

Re-enter Clarinda with Adorni 

A dor. I obey 

Your summons, madam. 

Cam. Leave the place, Clarinda. 

One woman, in a secret of such weight, 
Wise men may think too much. [Exit Clarinda.] 

Nearer, Adorni. 
I warrant it with a smile. 

A dor. I cannot ask 

Safer protection. What's your will ? 

Cam. To doubt 

Your ready desire to serve me, or prepare you 
With the repetition of former merits, 
Would, in my diffidence, wrong you. But I will, 
And without circumstance, in the trust that I 180 

Impose upon you, free you from suspicion. 

Ador. I foster none of you. 

Cam. I know you do not. 

You are, Adorni, by the love you ow T e me — 

Ador. The surest conjuration. 

Cam. Take me with you, n — 

Love born of duty ; but advance no further. 
You are, sir, as I said, to do me service, 
To undertake a task, in which your faith, 
Judgement, discretion — in a word, your all 
That's good, must be engaged ; nor must you study, 
In the execution, but what may make 190 

For the ends I aim at. 

A dor. They admit no rivals. 

Cam. You answer well. You have heard of Bertoldo's 



172 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act in 

Captivity, and the king's neglect ; the greatness 
Of his ransom ; fifty thousand crowns, Adorni ; 
Two parts of my estate ! 

Ador. [Aside.] To what tends this ? 

Cam. Yet I so love the gentleman, for to you 
I will confess my weakness, that I purpose 
Now, when he is forsaken by the king, 
And his own hopes, to ransom him, and receive him 
Into my bosom, as my lawful husband — 200 

Why change you colour ? 

Ador. 'Tis in wonder of 

Your virtue, madam. 

Cam. You must, therefore, to 

Siena for me, and pay to Gonzaga 
This ransom for his liberty. You shall 
Have bills of exchange along with you. Let him swear 
A solemn contract to me ; for you must be 
My principal witness, if he should — but why 
Do I entertain these jealousies ? You will do this ? 

Ador. Faithfully, madam — [Aside.] but not live long 
after. 

Cam. One thing I had forgot. Besides his freedom, 
He may want accommodations. Furnish him 211 

According to his birth ; and from Camiola 
Deliver this kiss, printed on your lips, [Kisses him. 

Sealed on his hand. You shall not see my blushes. 
I'll instantly dispatch you. [Exit. 

Ador. I am half 

Hanged out o' the way already. Was there ever 
Poor lover so employed against himself 
To make way for his rival ? I must do it. 
Nay, more, I will. If loyalty can find 
Recompense beyond hope or imagination, 220 

Let it fall on me in the other world 
As a reward, for in this I dare not hope it. [Exit. 



ACT THE FOURTH 

Scene I 

The Sienese. A Camp before the Walls of Siena 

Enter Gonzaga, Pierio, Roderigo, and Jacomo 

Gonz. You have seized upon the citadel, and dis- 
armed 
All that could make resistance ? 

Pier. Hunger had 

Done that before we came ; nor was the soldier 
Compelled to seek for prey. The famished wretches, 
In hope of mercy, as a sacrifice offered 
All that was worth the taking. 

Gonz. You proclaimed, 

On pain of death, no violence should be offered 
To any woman ? 

Rod. But it needed not ; 

For famine had so humbled them, and ta'en off 
The care of their sex's honour, that there was not 10 

So coy a beauty in the town but would, 
For half a mouldy biscuit, sell herself 
To a poor bisognio, and without shrieking. 

Gonz. Where is the Duke of Urbin ? 

Jac. Under guard, 

As you directed. 

Gonz. See the soldiers set 

In rank and file, and, as the duchess passes, 
Bid them vail their ensigns; and charge them on their 

lives 
Not to cry " Whores!" 



174 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act iv 

Jac. The devil cannot fright them 

From their military licence. Though they know 
They are her subjects, and will part with being 20 

To do her service, yet, since she's a woman, 
They will touch at her breech with their tongues ; and 

that is all 
That they can hope for. 

[A shout, and a general cry ivithin. 
Whores ! Whores ! 
Gonz. O the devil ! They are at it. 
Hell stop their brawling throats. Again ! make up, 
And cudgel them into jelly. 

Rod. To no purpose. 

Though their mothers were there, they would have the 
same name for them. [Exeunt. 



Scene II 
The Same. Another Part of the Camp 

Loud music. Enter Rodertgo, Jacomo, Pierio, Gon- 
zaga, and Aurelia under a Canopy. Astutio pre- 
sents her with letters 

Gonz. I do beseech your highness not to ascribe 
To the want of discipline, the barbarous rudeness 
Of the soldier, in his profanation of 
Your sacred name and virtues. 

- 1 nrel. No, lord general. 

I've heard my father say oft, 'twas a custom 
Usual in the camp ; nor are they to be punished 
For words, that have, in fact, deserved so well. 
L t the one excuse the other. 

. ! //. Excellent princess ! 

A nrel. But for these aids from Sicily sent against us 
To blast our spring of conquest in the bud, 10 






scene in] THE MAID OF HONOUR 17$ 

I cannot find, my lord ambassador, 
How we should entertain't but as a wrong, 
With purpose to detain us from our own, 
Howe'er the king endeavours, in his letters, 
To mitigate the affront. 

Ast. Your grace hereafter 

May hear from me such strong assurances 
Of his unlimited desires to serve you, 
As will, I hope, drown in forgetfulness 
The memory of what's past. 

Aurel. We shall take time 

To search the depth oft further, and proceed 20 

As our council shall direct us. 

Gonz. We present you 

With the keys of the city. All lets are removed. 
Your way is smooth and easy ; at your feet 
Your proudest enemy falls. 

Aurel. We thank your valours. 

A victory without blood is twice achieved, 
And the disposure of it, to us tendered, 
The greatest honour. Worthy captains, thanks ! 
My love extends itself to all. 

Gonz. Make way there. 

[.4 Guard drawn up; Aurelia passes through 
them. Loud music. Exeunt. 



Scene III 

Siena. A Room in the Prison 

Bertoldo is discovered in fetters, reading 

Bert. 'Tis here determined — great examples, armed 
With arguments, produced to make it good' — 
That neither tyrants, nor the wrested laws. 
The people's frantic rage, sad exile, want, 



1 76 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act iv 

Nor that which I endure, captivity, 
Can do a wise man any injury. 
Thus Seneca, when he wrote, thought. 11 But then 
Felicity courted him ; his wealth exceeding 
A private man's ; happy in the embraces 
Of his chaste wife Paulina ; his house full 10 

Of children, clients, servants, flattering friends, 
Soothing his lip-positions ; n and created 
Prince of the senate, by the general voice, 
At his new pupil's suffrage. Then, no doubt, 
He held and did believe this. But no sooner 
The prince's frowns and jealousies had thrown him 
Out of security's lap, and a centurion 
Had offered him what choice of death he pleased, 
But told him, die he must, when straight the armour 
Of his so boasted fortitude fell off, 20 

[Throws away the book. 
Complaining of his frailty. Can it then 
Be censured womanish weakness in me if, 
Thus clogged with irons, and the period 
To close up all calamities denied me 
Which was presented Seneca, I wish 
I ne'er had being ; at least, never knew 
What happiness was ; or argue with Heaven's justice, 
Tearing my locks, and, in defiance, throwing 
Dust in the air ? or, falling on the ground, thus 
With my nails and teeth to dig a grave, or rend 30 

The bowels of the earth, my stepmother, 
And not a natural parent ? or thus practise 
To die, and, as I were insensible, 
Believe I had no motion ? [Falls on his face. 

Enter Gonzaga, Adorni, and Jailer 

Gonz. There he is. 

I'll not inquire by whom his ransom's paid, 
I am satisfied that. I have it; nor allege 



scene m] THE MAID OF HONOUR 177 

One reason to excuse his cruel usage, 

As you may interpret it. Let it suffice 

It was my will to have it so. He is yours now, 

Dispose of him as you please. [Exit. 

Ador. Howe'er I hate him, 40 

As one preferred before me, being a man, 
He does deserve my pity. Sir ! — He sleeps; 
Or is he dead ? Would he were a saint in Heaven ! 
'Tis all the hurt I wish him. [Aside.] But I was not 
Born to such happiness. [Kneels by him.] No, he 

breathes, — come near, 
And, if 't be possible, without his feeling, 
Take off his irons. [His irons are taken of.] So ; now 
leave us private. [Exit Jailer. 

He does begin to stir ; and, as transported 
With a joyful dream, how he stares ! and feels his legs, 
As yet uncertain whether it can be 50 

True or fantastical. 

Bert. [Rising.] Ministers of mercy, 
Mock not calamity. Ha ! 'tis no vision ! 
Or, if it be, the happiest that ever 
Appeared to sinful flesh ! Who's here ? His face 
Speaks him Adorni. But some glorious angel, 
Concealing its divinity in his shape, 
Hath done this miracle, it being not an act 
For wolfish man. Resolve me, if thou look'st for 
Bent knees in adoration ? 

Ador. O forbear, sir ! 

J am Adorni, and the instrument 60 

Of your deliverance. But the benefit 
You owe another. 

Bert. If he has a name, 

As soon as spoken, 'tis writ on my heart. 
I am his bondman. 

Ador. To the shame of men, 

This great act is a woman's. 

Bert. The whole sex 



178 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act iv 

For her sake must be deified. How I wander 
In my imagination, yet cannot 
Guess who this phoenix should be ! 

Ador. Tis Camiola. 

Bert. Pray you, speak't again; there's music in her 
name. 
Once more, I pray you, sir. 

Ador. Camiola, 70 

The MAID OF HONOUR. 

Bert. Cursed atheist that I was, 

Only to doubt it could be any other, 
Since she alone, in the abstract of herself, 
That small but ravishing substance, comprehends 
Whatever is or can be wished in the 
Idea of a woman ! O what service, 
Or sacrifice of duty, can I pay her, 
If not to live and die her charity's slave, 
Which is resolved already ! 

Ador. She expects not 

Such a dominion o'er you. Yet, ere I 80 

Deliver her demands, give me your hand. 
On this, as she enjoined me, with my lips 
I print her love and service, by me sent you. 

Bert. I am o'erwhelmed with wonder ! 

Ador. You must now, 

Which is the sum of all that she desires, 
By a solemn contract bind yourself, when she 
Requires it, as a debt due for your freedom, 
To marry her. 

Bert. This does engage me further ; 

A payment ! an increase of obligation. 
To marry her, 'twas my nil ultra n ever. 90 

The end of my ambition. O that now 
The holy man, she present, were prepared 
To join our hands, but with that speed my heart 
Wishes mine eyes might see her ! 

Ador. You must swear this. 



scene in] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 79 

Bert. Swear it ! Collect all oaths and imprecations 
Whose last breach is damnation, and those 
Ministered to me in a form more dreadful ; 
Set Heaven and hell before me, I will take them. 
False to Camiola ! Never. Shall I now 
Begin my vows to you ? 

Ador. I am no churchman ; 100 

Such a one must file it on record. You are free ; 
And, that you may appear like to yourself — 
For so she wished — here's gold, with which you may 
Redeem your trunks and servants, and whatever 
Of late you lost. I have found out the captain 
Whose spoil they were. His name is Roderigo. 

Bert. I know him. 

Ador. I have done my parts. 

Bert. So much, sir, 

As I am ever yours for't. Now, methinks, 
I walk in air ! Divine Camiola — 

But words cannot express thee. I'll build to thee no 
An altar in my soul, on which I'll offer 
A still-increasing sacrifice of duty. [Exit. 

Ador. What will become of me now is apparent. 
Whether a poniard or a halter be 
The nearest way to hell — for I must thither, 
After I've killed myself — is somewhat doubtful. 
This Roman resolution of self-murder 
Will not hold water at the high tribunal, 
When it comes to be argued. My good genius 
Prompts me to this consideration. He 120 

That kills himself to avoid misery, fears it, 
And, at the best, shows but a bastard valour. 
This life's a fort committed to my trust, 
Which I must not yield up till it be forced. 
Nor will I. He's not valiant that dares die, 
But he that boldly bears calamity. [Exit. 



180 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act iv 

Scene IV 
The same. A State-room in the Palace 

A flourish. Enter Pierio, Roderigo, Jacomo, Gonzaga, 
Aurelia, Ferdinand, Astutio, and Attendants 

Aurel. A seat here for the duke. It is our glory 
To overcome with courtesies, not rigour. 
The lordly Roman, who held it the height 
Of human happiness to have kings and queens 
To wait by his triumphant chariot-wheels, 
In his insulting pride, deprived himself 
Of drawing near the nature of the gods, 
Best known for such, in being merciful. 
Yet, give me leave, but still with gentle language, 
And with the freedom of a friend, to tell you, 10 

To seek by force what courtship could not win, 
Was harsh, and never taught in Love's mild school. 
Wise poets feign that Venus' coach is drawn 
By doves and sparrows, not by bears and tigers. 
I spare the application. 

Fer. In my fortune 

Heaven's justice hath confirmed it. Yet, great lady, 
Since my offence grew from excess of love, 
And not to be resisted, having paid, too, 
With loss of liberty, the forfeiture 

Of my presumption, in your clemency 20 

It may find pardon. 

Aurel. You shall have just cause 

To say it hath. The charge of the long siege 
Defrayed, and the loss my subjects have sustained 
Made good, since so far I must deal with caution, 
You have your liberty. 

Fer. I could not hope for 

Gentler conditions. 

Aurel. My lord Gonzaga, 



scene iv] THE MAID OF HONOUR l8l 

Since my coming to Siena, I've heard much of 
Your prisoner, brave Bertoldo. 

Gonz. Such a one, 

Madam, I had. 

Ast. And have still, sir, I hope. 

Gonz. Your hopes deceive you. He is ransomed, 
madam. 30 

Ast. By whom, I pray you, sir ? 

Gonz. You had best inquire 

Of your intelligencer. I am no informer. 

Ast. [Aside.] I like not this. 

Aurel. He is, as 'tis reported, 

A goodly gentleman, and of noble parts, 
A brother of your order. 

Gonz. He was, madam, 

Till he, against his oath, wronged you, a princess, 
Which his religion bound him from. 

Aurel. Great minds, 

For trial of their valours, oft maintain 
Quarrels that are unjust, yet without malice ; 
And such a fair construction I make of him. 40 

I would see that brave enemy. 

Gonz. My duty 

Commands me to seek for him. 

Aurel. Pray you do ; 

And bring him to our presence. [Exit Gonzaga. 

Ast. [Aside.] I must blast 

His entertainment. May it please your excellency, 
He is a man debauched, and, for his riots, 
Cast off by the king my master ; and that, I hope, is 
A crime sufficient. 

Fer. To you, his subjects, 

That like as your king likes. 

Aurel. But not to us ; 

We must weigh with our own scale. 



182 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act iv 1 

Re-enter Gonzaga, with Bertoldo, richly habited, 
and Adorni 

[Aside.] This is he, sure. 
How soon mine eye had found him ! What a port 50 
He bears ! How well his bravery becomes him ! 
A prisoner ! Nay, a princely suitor, rather ! 
But I'm too sudden. 

Gonz. Madam, 'twas his suit, 

Unsent for, to present his service to you 
Ere his departure. 

Aurel. [Aside.] With what majesty 
He bears himself ! 

A st. The devil, I think, supplies him. 

Ransomed, and thus rich too ! 

Aurel. You ill deserve 

[Bertoldo kneeling, kisses her hand. 
The favour of our hand — we are not well, 
Give us more air — [Descends suddenly. 

Gonz. (What sudden qualm is this ?) 

Aurel. — That lifted yours against me. 

Bert. Thus, once more, 

I sue for pardon. 

Aurel. [Aside.] Sure his lips are poisoned, 61 

And through these veins force passage to my heart, 
Which is already seized on. 

Bert. I wait, madam, 

To know what your commands are ; my designs 
Exact me in another place. 

Aurel. Before 

You have our licence to depart ! If manners, 
Civility of manners, cannot teach you 
To attend our leisure, I must tell you, sir, 
That you are still our prisoner; nor had you 
Commission to free him. 

Gonz. J low's this, madam ? 70 

Aurel. You were my substitute, and wanted power, 



scene iv] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 83 

Without my warrant, to dispose of him. 
I will pay back his ransom ten times over, 
Rather than quit my interest. 

Bert. This is 

Against the law of arms. 

Aurel. {Aside.} But not of love. — 

Why, hath your entertainment, sir, been such, 
In your restraint, that, with the wings of fear, 
You would fly from it ? 

Bert. I know no man, madam, 

Enamoured of his fetters, or delighting 
In cold or hunger, or that would in reason 80 

Prefer straw in a dungeon, before 
A down-bed in a palace. 

Aurel. How ! Come nearer. 

W T as his usage such ? 

Gonz. Yes ; and it had been worse, 

Had I forseen this. 

Aurel. O thou mis-shaped monster ! 

In thee it is confirmed that such as have 
No share in nature's bounties know no pity 
To such as have them. Look on him with my eyes, 
And answer, then, whether this were a man 
Whose cheeks of lovely fulness should be made 
A prey to meagre fanzine ? or these eyes, 90 

Whose every glance stores Cupid's emptied quiver, 
To be dimmed with tedious watching ? or these lips, 
These ruddy lips, of whose fresh colour cherries 
And roses were but copies, should grow pale 
For want of nectar ? or these legs, that bear 
A burthen of more worth than is supported 
By Atlas' wearied shoulders, should be cramped 
With the weight of iron ? O, I could dwell ever 
On this description ! 

Bert. Is this in derision, 

Or pity of me ? 

Aurel. In your charity 100 



1 84 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act iv 

Believe me innocent. Now you are my prisoner, 

You shall have fairer quarter. You will shame 

The place where you have been, should you now leave it, 

Before you are recovered. I'll conduct you 

To more convenient lodgings, and it shall be 

My care to cherish you. Repine who dare. 

It is our will. You'll follow me ? 

Bert. To the centre, 

Such a Sybilla guiding me. n 

[Exeunt Aurelia, Bertoldo, and Attendants. 

Gonz. Who speaks first ? 

Fer. We stand as we had seen Medusa's head. 

Pier. I know not what to think, I am so amazed, no 

Rod. Amazed ! I am thunderstruck. 

Jac. We are enchanted, 

And this is some illusion. 

Ador. Heaven forbid ! 

In dark despair it shows a beam of hope. 
[Aside.] Contain thy joy, Adorni. 

A st. Such a princess, 

And of so long-experienced reservedness, 
Break forth, and on the sudden, into flashes 
Of more than doubted looseness ! 

Gonz. They come again, 

Smiling, as I live ! his arm circlingjier waist. 
I shall run mad. Some fury hath possessed her. 
If I speak, I may be blasted. Ha ! I'll mumble 120 
A prayer or two, and cross myself, and then, 
Though the devil fart fire, have at him. 

Re-enter Bertoldo and Aurelia 

Aurel. Let not, sir, 

The violence of my passion nourish in you 
An ill opinion ; or, grant my carriage 
Out of the road and garb of private women, 
'Tis still done with decorum. As I am 



scene iv] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 85 

A princess, what I do is above censure, 
And to be imitated. 

Bert. Gracious madam, 

Vouchsafe a little pause ; for I am so rapt 
Beyond myself, that, till I have collected 130 

My scattered faculties, I cannot tender 
My resolution. 

Aurel. Consider of it, 

I will not be long from you. [Bertoldo walks by musing. 

Gonz. Pray I cannot, 

This cursed object strangles my devotion. 
I must speak, or I burst. — Pray, you, fair lady, 
If you can, in courtesy direct me to 
The chaste Aurelia. 

Aurel. Are you blind ? Who are we ? 

Gonz. Another kind of thing. Her blood was governed 
By her discretion, and not ruled her reason. 
The reverence and majesty of Juno 140 

Shined in her looks, and, coming to the camp, 
Appeared a second Pallas. I can see 
No such divinities in you. If I, 

Without offence, may speak my thoughts, you are, 
As 'twere, a wanton Helen. 

Aurel. Good ! ere long 

You shall know me better. 

Gonz. Why, if you are Aurelia, 

How shall I dispose of the soldier ? 

A st. May it please you 

To hasten my dispatch ? 

Aurel. Prefer your suits 

Unto Bertoldo. We will give him hearing, 149 

And you'll find him your best advocate. [Exit. 

A st. This is rare ! 

Gonz. What are we come to ? 

Rod, Grown up in a moment 

A favourite ! 

Fer. He does take state already. 



1 86 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act iv 

i 

Bert. No, no ; it cannot be. Yet, but Camiola, 
There is no step between me and a crown. 
Then my ingratitude ! a sin in which 
All sins are comprehended ! Aid me, Virtue, 
Or I am lost. 

Gonz. May it please your excellence — 

Second me, sir. 

Bert. Then my so horrid oaths, 

And hell-deep imprecations made against it ! 

A st. The king, your brother, will thank you for the 
advancement 160 

Of his affairs. 

Bert. And yet who can hold out 

Against such batteries as her power and greatness 
Raise up against my weak defences ! 

Gonz. Sir, 

Re-enter Aurelia 

Do you dream waking ? 'Slight, she's here again ! 
Walks she on woollen feet ! 

Anrel. You dwell too long 

In your deliberation, and come 
With a cripple's pace to that which you should fly to. 

Bert. It is confessed. Yet why should I, to win 
From you, that hazard all to my poor nothing, 
By false play send you off a loser from me ? 170 

I am already too, too much engaged 
To the king my brother's anger; and who knows 
But that his doubts and politic fears, should you 
Make me his equal; may draw war upon 
Your territories? Were that breach made up, 
I should with joy embrace what now I fear 
To touch but with due reverence. 

Aim!. That hindrance 

rily removed. I owe the king 
For a royal visit, which 1 straight will pay him ; 



scene iv] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 87 

And having first reconciled you to his favour, 180 

A dispensation shall meet with us. 

Bert. I am wholly yours. 

Aurel. On this book seal it. 

Gonz. What, hand and lip too ! Then the bargain's 
sure. 
You have no employment for me ? 

Aurel. Yes, Gonzaga; 

Provide a royal ship. 

Gonz. A ship ! St. John, 

Whither are we bound now ? 

Aurel. You shall know hereafter. 

My lord, your pardon, for my too much trenching 
Upon your patience. 

Ador. [Aside to Bertoldo.] Camiola ! 

Aurel. How do you ? 

Bert. Indisposed ; but I attend you. 

[Exeunt all but Adorni. 

Ador. The heavy curse that waits on perjury, 190 

And foul ingratitude, pursue thee ever ! 
Yet why from me this ? In his breach of faith 
My loyalty finds reward. What poisons him, 
Proves mithridate to me. I have performed 
All she commanded, punctually ; and now, 
In the clear mirror of my truth, she may 
Behold his falsehood. O that I had w T ings 
To bear me to Palermo ! This once known, 
Must change her love into a just disdain, 199 

And work her to compassion of my pain. [Exit. 



1 88 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act iv 

Scene V 
Palermo. A Room in Camiola's House 
Enter Sylli, Camiola, and Clarinda, at several doors 

Syl. Undone ! undone ! — poor I, that whilome was 
The top and ridge of my house, am, on the sudden, 
Turned to the pitifullest animal 
O' the lineage of the Syllis ! 

Cam. What's the matter ? 

Syl. The king — break, girdle, break ! 

Cam. Why, what of him ? 

Syl. Hearing how far you doted on my person, 
'Growing envious of my happiness, and knowing 
His brother, nor his favourite, Fulgentio, 
Could get a sheep's eye from you, I being present, 
Is come himself a suitor, with the awl 10 

Of his authority to bore my nose, 
And take you from me — oh, oh, oh ! 

Cam. Do not roar so. The king ! 

Syl. The king. Yet loving Sylli is not 
So sorry for his own, as your misfortune. 
If the king should carry you, or you bear him, 
What a loser should you be ! He can but make you 
A queen, and what a simple thing is that, 
To the being my lawful spouse ! The world can 

never 
Afford you such a husband. 

Cam. I believe you. 20 

Hut how are you sure the king is so inclined ? 
Did you not dream this? 

Syl. With these eyes I saw him 

Dismiss his train, and, lighting from his coach, 
Whispering Fulgentio in the ear. 

Cam. If so, 

1 guess the business. 






scene v] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 89 



Syl. It can be no other, 

But to give me the bob, that being a matter 
Of main importance. Yonder they are. I dare not 

Enter Roberto and Fulgentio 

Be seen, I am so desperate. If you forsake me, 
Send me word, that I may provide a willow garland, 
To wear when I drown myself. O Sylli, Sylli ! 30 

[Exit crying. 

Ful. It will be worth your pains, sir, to observe 
The constancy and bravery of her spirit. 
Though great men tremble at your frowns, I dare 
Hazard my head, your majesty, set off 
With terror, cannot fright her. 

Rob. [Aside.] May she answer 

My expectation ! 

Ful. There she is. 

Cam. My knees thus 

Bent to the earth, while my vows are sent upward 
For the safety of my sovereign, pay the duty 
Due for so great an honour, in this favour 
Done to your humblest handmaid. 

Rob. You mistake me. 

I come not, lady, that you may report 41 

The king, to do you honour, made your house — 
He being there — his court ; but to correct 
Your stubborn disobedience. A pardon 
For that, could you obtain it, were well purchased 
With this humility. 

Cam. A pardon, sir ! 

Till I am conscious of an offence, 
I will not wrong my innocence to beg one. 
What is my crime, sir ? 

Rob. % Look on him I favour, 

By you scorned and neglected. 

Cam. Is that all, sir ? 50 



190 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act iv 

Rob. No, minion ; though that were too much. How 
can you 
Answer the setting on your desperate, bravo 
To murder him ? 

Cam. With your leave, I must not kneel, sir, 

While I reply to this, but thus rise up 
In my defence, and tell you, as a man — 
Since, when you are unjust, the deity, 
Which you may challenge as a king, parts from you — 
'Twas never read in holy writ, or moral, 
That subjects on their loyalty were obliged 
To love their sovereign's vices. Your grace, sir, 60 

To such an undeserver is no virtue. 

Ful. What think you now, sir ? 

Cam. Say, you should love wine, 

You being the king, and, 'cause I am your subject, 
Must I be ever drunk ? Tyrants, not kings, 
By violence from humble vassals force 
The liberty of their souls. I could not love him ; 
And to compel affection, as I take it, 
Is not found in your prerogative. 

Rob. [Aside.] Excellent virgin ! 

How I admire her confidence ! 

Cam. He complains 

Of wrong done him ; but, be no more a king, 70 

Unless you do me right. Burn your decrees, 
And of your laws and statutes make a fire 
To thaw the frozen numbness of delinquents, 
If he escape unpunished. Do your edicts 
Call it death in any man that breaks into 
Another's house to rob him, though of trifles, 
And shall Fulgentio, your Fulgentio, live, 
Who hath committed more than sacrilege, 
In the pollution of my clear fame, 
By his malicious slanders? 

Rob. Have you done this ? 80 

Answer truly, on your life. 



scene v] THE MAID OF HONOUR 191 

Ful. In the heat of blood, 

Some such thing I reported. 

Rob. Out of my sight ! 

For I vow, if by true penitence thou win not 
This injured virgin to sue out thy pardon, 
Thy grave is digged already. 

Ful. [Aside.] By my own folly 

I have made a fair hand oft. [Exit. 

Rob. You shall know, lady, 

While I wear a crown, justice shall use her sword 
To cut offenders off, though nearest to us. 

Cam. Ay, now you show whose deputy you are. 
If now I bathe your feet with tears, it cannot 90 

Be censured superstition. 

Rob. You must rise ; 

Rise in our favour and protection ever. [Kisses her. 

Cam. Happy are subjects, when the prince is still 
Guided by justice, not his passionate will. [Exeunt. 



ACT THE FIFTH 
Scene I 
The same. A Room in Camiola's House 
Enter Camiola and Sylli 

Cam. You see how tender I am of the quiet 
And peace of your affection, and what great ones 
I put off in your favour. 

Syl. You do wisely, 

Exceeding wisely ; and when I have said, 
I thank you for't, be happy. 

Cam. And good reason, 

In having such a blessing. 

Syl. When you have it ; 

But the bait is not yet ready. Stay the time, 
While I triumph by myself. King, by your leave, 
I have wiped your royal nose without a napkin ; 
You may cry, " Willow, willow ! " n For your brother 10 
I'll only say, "Go by !" n For my fine favourite, 
He may graze where he please ; his lips may water 
Like a puppy's o'er a furmenty pot, while Sylli 
Out of his two-leaved cherry-stone dish drinks nectar ! 
I cannot hold out any longer ; Heaven forgive me ! 
'Tis not the first oath I have broke. I must take 
A little for a preparative. {Offers to kiss and embrace her. 

Cam. By no means. 

If you forswear yourself, we shall not prosper. 
I'll rather lose my longing. 

Syl. Pretty soul ! 

192 



scene i] THE MAID OF HONOUR 193 

How careful it is of me ! Let me buss yet 20 

Thy little dainty foot for't ; that, I'm sure, is 
Out of my oath. 

Cam. Why, if thou canst dispense with't 

So far, I'll not be scrupulous ; such a favour 
My amorous shoemaker steals. 

Syl. O most rare leather ! [Kisses her shoe often. 
I do begin at the lowest, but in time 
I may grow higher. 

Cam. Fie ! you dwell too long there. 

Rise, prithee rise. 

Syl. O, I am up already. 

Enter Clarinda, hastily 

Cam. How I abuse my hours ! — What news with 
thee, now ? 

Clar. Off with that gown, 'tis mine; mine by your 
promise. 
Signior Adorni is returned ! Now upon entrance ! 30 
Off with it, off with it, madam ! 

Cam. Be not so hasty. 

When I go to bed, 'tis thine. 

Syl. You have my grant too. 

But, do you hear, lady, though I give way to this, 
You must hereafter ask my leave, before 
You part with things of moment. 

Cam. Very good ; 

When I'm yours I'll be governed. 

Syl. Sweet obedience ! 

Enter Adorni 

Cam. You are well returned. 

A dor. I wish that the success 

Of my service had deserved it. 

Cam. Lives Bertoldo ? 



194 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act v 

A dor. Yes, and returned with safety. 

Cam. 'Tis not then 

In the power of fate to add to, or take from 40 

My perfect happiness ; and yet — he should 
Have made me his first visit. 

A dor. So I think too ; 

But he — 

Syl. Durst not appear, I being present ; 

That's his excuse, I warrant you. 

Cam. Speak, where is he ? 

With whom ? Who hath deserved more from him, or 
Can be of equal merit ? I in this 
Do not except the king. 

A dor. He's at the palace, 

With the Duchess of Siena. One coach brought them 

hither, 
Without a third. He's very gracious with her. 
You may conceive the rest. 

Cam. My jealous fears 50 

Make me to apprehend. 

A dor. Pray you dismiss 

Signior Wisdom, and I'll make relation to you 
Of the particulars. 

Cam. Servant, I would have you 

To haste unto the court. 

Syl. I will outrun 

A footman for your pleasure. 

Cam. There observe 

The duchess' train, and entertainment. 

Syl. Fear not ; 

I will discover all that is of weight, 
To the liveries of her pages and her footmen. 
This is fit employment for me. [Exit. 

( 'am. Gracious with 

The duchess ! Sure, you said so? 

. 1 dor. I will use 60 

All possible brevity to inform you, madam, 



scene i] THE MAID OF HONOUR 195 

Of what was trusted to me, and discharged 
With faith and loyal duty. 

Cam. I believe it. 

You ransomed him, and supplied his wants — imagine 
That is already spoken ; and what vows 
Of service he made to me, is apparent ; 
His joy of me, and wonder too, perspicuous. 
Does not your story end so ? 

A dor. Would the end 

Had answered the beginning ! In a word, 
Ingratitude and perjury at the height 70 

Cannot express him. 

Cam. Take heed. 

A dor. Truth is armed, 

And can defend itself. It must out, madam. 
I saw — the presence full n — the amorous duchess 
Kiss and embrace him ; on his part accepted 
With equal ardour ; and their willing hands 
No sooner joined, but a remove w r as published, 
And put in execution. 

Cam. The proofs are 

Too pregnant. O Bertoldo ! 

A dor. He's not worth 

Your sorrow, madam. 

Cam. Tell me, when you saw this, 

Did not you grieve, as I do now to hear it ? 80 

A dor. His precipice from goodness raising mine, 
And serving as a foil to set my faith off, 
I had little reason. 

Cam. In this you confess 

The devilish malice of your disposition. 
As you were a man, you stood bound to lament it, 
And not, in flattery of your false hopes, 
To glory in it. When good men pursue 
The path marked out by virtue, the blest saints 
With joy look on it, and seraphic angels 
Clap their celestial wings in heavenly plaudits 00 



196 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act v 

To see a scene of grace so well presented, 
The fiends, and men made up of envy, mourning. 
Whereas now, on the contrary, as far 
As their divinity can partake of passion, 
With me they weep, beholding a fair temple, 
Built in Bertoldo's loyalty, turned to ashes 
By the flames of his inconstancy, the damned 
Rejoicing in the object. 'Tis not well 
In you, Adorni. 

Ador. [Aside.] What a temper dwells 
In this rare virgin ! — Can you pity him, 100 

That hath shown none to you ? 

Cam. I must not be 

Cruel by his example. You, perhaps, 
Expect now I should seek recovery 
Of what I have lost, by tears, and with bent knees 
Beg his compassion. No ; my towering virtue, 
From the assurance of my merit, scorns 
To stoop so low. I'll take a nobler course, 
And, confident in the justice of my cause, 
The king his brother, and new mistress, judges. 
Ravish him from her arms. You have the contract, no 
In which he swore to marry me ? 

Ador. 'Tis here, madam. 

Cam. He shall be, then, against his will, my hus- 

■ band ; 
And when I have him, I'll so use him ! Doubt not, 
But that, your honesty being unquestioned, 
This writing, with your testimony, clears all. 

Ador. And buries me in the dark mists of error. 

Cam. I'll presently to court. Pray you, give order 
For my caroche. 

Ador. [Aside.] A cart for me were fitter, 
To hurry me to the gallows. [Exit. 

Cam. O false men ! 

Inconstant ! Perjured ! My good angel help me 120 

In these my extremities ! 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 197 

Re-enter Sylli 

Syl. If you e'er will see brave sight, 

Lose it not now. Bertoldo and the duchess 
Are presently to be married. There's such pomp 
And preparation ! 

Cam. If I marry; 'tis 

This day, or never. 

Syl. Why, with all my heart. 

Though I break this, I'll keep the next oath I make, 
And then it is quit. 

Cam. Follow me to my cabinet. 

You know my confessor, Father Paulo ? 

Syl. Yes ; shall he 

Do the feat for us ? 

Cam. I will give in writing 

Directions to him, and attire myself 130 

Like a virgin bride ; and something I will do 
That shall deserve men's praise, and wonder too. 

Syl. And I, to make all know I am not shallow, 
Will have my points of cochineal and yellow. [Exeunt. 



Scene II 

The same. A State-room in the Palace 

Loud music. Enter Roberto, Bertoldo, Aurelia, 
Ferdinand, Astutio, Gonzaga, Roderigo, Jacomo, 
Pierio, a Bishop, and Attendants 

Rob. Had our division been greater, madam, 
Your clemency, the wrong being done to you, 
In pardon of it, like the rod of concord, 
Must make a perfect union. Once more, 
With a brotherly affection, we receive you 
Into our favour. Let it be your study 



1 98 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act v 

Hereafter to deserve this blessing, far 
Beyond your merit. 

Bert. As the princess' grace 

To me is without limit, my endeavours, 
With all obsequiousness to serve her pleasures, 10 

Shall know no bounds. Nor will I, being made 
Her husband, e'er forget the duty that 
I owe her as a servant. 

Aurel. I expect not 

But fair equality, since I well know, 
If that superiority be due, 

'Tis not to me. When you are made my consort, 
All the prerogatives of my high birth cancelled, 
I'll practise the obedience of a wife, 
And freely pay it. Queens themselves, if they 
Make choice of their inferiors, only aiming 20 

To feed their sensual appetites, and to reign 
Over their husbands, in some kind commit 
Authorized whoredom ; nor will I be guilty, 
In my intent of such a crime. 

Gonz. This done, 

As it is promised, madam, may well stand for 
A precedent to great women. But, when once 
The griping hunger of desire is cloyed, 
And the poor fool advanced, brought on his knees, 
Most of your eagle breed, I'll. say not all, 
Ever excepting you, challenge again 30 

What, in hot blood, they parted from. 

Aurel. You are ever 

An enemy of our sex. But you, I hope, sir, 
Have better thoughts. 

Bert. I dare not entertain 

An ill one of your goodness. 

Rob. To my power 

I will enable him, to prevent all danger 
Envy can raise against your choice. One word more 
Touching the articles. 






scene ii] THE MAID OF HONOUR 1 99 

Enter Fulgentio, Camiola, Sylli, and Adorni 

Ful. In you alone 

Lie ail my hopes ; you can or kill or save me. 
But pity in you will become you better — 
Though I confess in justice 'tis denied me — 40 

Than too much rigour. 

Cam. I will make your peace 

As far as it lies in me, but must first 
Labour to right myself. 

Aurel. Or add or alter 

What you think fit. In him I have my all ; 
Heaven make me thankful for him ! 

Rob. On to the temple ! 

Cam. Stay, royal sir ; and as you are a king, 
Erect one here, in doing justice to 
An injured maid. 

Aurel. How's this? 

Bert. O, I am blasted ! 

Rob. I have given some proof, sweet lady, of my 
promptness 
To do you right, you need not, therefore, doubt me ; 50 
And rest assured that, this great work dispatched 
You shall have audience, and satisfaction 
To all you can demand. 

Cam. To do me justice 

Exacts your present care, and can admit 
Of no delay. If, ere my cause be heard 
In favour of your brother you go on, sir, 
Your sceptre cannot right me. He's the man, 
The guilty man whom I accuse ; and you 
Stand bound in duty, as you are supreme, 
To be impartial. Since you are a judge, 60 

As a delinquent look on him, and not 
As on a brother. Justice painted blind, 
Infers her ministers are obliged to hear 
The cause, and truth, the judge, determine of it ; 



200 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act v 

And not swayed or by favour or affection, 
By a false gloss, or wrested comment, alter 
The true intent and letter of the law. 

Rob. Nor will I, madam. 

Aurel. You seem troubled, sir. 

Gonz. His colour changes too. 

Cam. The alteration 

Grows from his guilt. The goodness of my cause 70 

Begets such confidence in me, that I bring 
No hired tongue to plead for me, that with gay 
Rhetorical flourishes may palliate 
That w T hich, stripped naked, will appear deformed. 
I stand here mine own advocate ; and my truth, 
Delivered in the plainest language, will 
Make good itself ; nor will I, if the king 
Give suffrage to it, but admit of you, 
My greatest enemy, and this stranger prince, 
To sit assistants with him. 

Aurel. I ne'er wronged you. 80 

Cam. In your knowledge of the injury, I believe it; 
Nor will you, in your justice, when you are 
Acquainted with my interests in this man, 
Which I lay claim to. 

Rob. Let us take our seats. 

What is your title to him ? 

Cam. By this contract, 

Sealed solemnly before a reverend man, 

[Presents a paper to the King. 
I challenge him for my husband. 

Syl. Ha ! was I 

Sent for the friar for this ? O Sylli ! Sylli ! 
Some cordial, or I faint. 

Rob. The writing is 

Authentical. 

i 1 urel. But, done in heat of blood, 90 

Charmed by her flatteries, as no doubt he was, 
To be dispensed with. 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 201 

Fer. Add this, if you please, 

The distance arid disparity between 
Their births and fortunes. 

Cam. What can Innocence hope for 

When such as sit her judges are corrupted ! 
Disparity of birth or fortune, urge you? 
Or Siren charms ? or, at his best, in me 
Wants to deserve him ? Call some few days back, 
And, as he was, consider him, and you 
Must grant him my inferior. Imagine ioo 

You saw him now in fetters, with his honour, 
His liberty lost ; with her black wings Despair 
Circling his miseries, and this Gonzaga 
Trampling on his afflictions ; the great sum 
Proposed for his redemption ; the king 
Forbidding payment of it ; his near kinsmen, 
With his protesting followers and friends, 
Falling off from him ; by the whole world forsaken ; 
Dead to all hope, and buried in the grave 
Of his calamities ; and then w T eigh duly no 

What she deserved, whose merits now are doubted, 
That, as his better angel, in her bounties 
Appeared unto him, his great ransom paid, 
His wants, and with a prodigal hand, supplied : 
Whether, then, being my manumised slave, 
He owed not himself to me ? 

Aurel. Is this true? 

Rob. In his silence 'tis acknowledged. 

Gonz. If you want 

A witness to this purpose, I'll depose it. 

Cam. If I have dwelt too long on my deservings 
To this unthankful man, pray you pardon me. 120 

The cause required it. And though now I add 
A little, in my painting to the life 
His barbarous ingratitude, to deter 
Others from imitation, let it meet with 
A fair interpretation. This serpent, 



202 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act v 

Frozen to numbness, was no sooner warmed 

In the bosom of my pity and compassion, 

But, in return, he ruined his preserver, 

The prints the irons had made in his flesh 

Still ulcerous. But all that I had done, i 3 o 

My benefits, in sand or water written, 

As they had never been, no more remembered ; 

And on what ground, but his ambitious hopes 

To gain this duchess' favour ? 

Aurel. Yes; the object, 

Look on it better, lady, may excuse 
The change of his affection. 

Cam. The object ! 

In what ? Forgive me, modesty, if I say 
You look upon your form in the false glass 
Of flattery and self-love, and that deceives you. 
That you were a duchess, as I take it, was not 140 

Charactered on your face; and, that not seen, 
For other feature, make all these, that are 
Experienced in women, judges of them, 
And, if they are not parasites, they must grant, 
For beauty without art, though you storm at it, 
I may take the right-hand file. 11 

Gonz. Well said, i' faith ! 

I see fair women on no terms will yield 
Priority in beauty. 

Cam. Down, proud heart ! 

Why do I rise up in defence of that 
Which, in my cherishing of it, hath undone me ? 150 

No, madam, I recant, — you are all beauty, 
Goodness, and virtue; and poor I not worthy 
As a foil to set you off. Enjoy your conquest; 
But do not tyrannize. Yet, as I am, 
In my lowness, from your height you may look on 

me, 
And, in your suffrage to me, make him know 
Thai, though to all men else I did appear 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 203 

The shame and scorn of women, he stands bound 
To hold me as the masterpiece. 

Rob. By my life, 

You have shown yourself of such an abject temper, 160 
So poor and low-conditioned, as I grieve for 
Your nearness to me. 

Fer. I am changed in my 

Opinion of you, lady ; and profess 
The virtues of your mind an ample fortune 
For an absolute monarch. 

Gonz. Since you are resolved 

To damn yourself, in your forsaking of 
Your noble order for a woman, do it 
For this. You may search through the w T orld, and meet 

not 
With such another phoenix. 

Aurel. On the sudden 

I feel all fires of love quenched in the water 170 

Of my compassion. Make your peace ; you have 
My free consent ; for here I do disclaim 
All interest in you. And, to further your 
Desires, fair maid, composed of worth and honour, 
The dispensation procured by me, 
Freeing Bertoldo from his vow, makes way 
To your embraces. 

Bert. O, how have I strayed, 

And wilfully, out of the noble track 
Marked me by virtue ! Till now, I was never 
Truly a prisoner. To excuse my late 18c 

Captivity, I might allege the malice 
Of fortune ; you, that conquered me, confessing 
Courage in my defence was no way wanting. 
But now I have surrendered up my strengths 
Into the power of Vice, and on my forehead 
Branded, with mine own hand, in capital letters, 
Disloyal, and Ingrateful. Though barred from 
Human society, and hissed into 



204 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act v 

Some desert ne'er yet haunted with the curses 

Of men and women, sitting as a judge 190 

Upon my guilty self, I must confess 

It justly falls upon me ; and one tear, 

Shed in compassion of my sufferings, more 

Than I can hope for. 

Cam. This compunction 

For the wrong that you have done me, though you should 
Fix here, and your true sorrow move no further, 
Will, in respect I loved once, make these eyes 
Two springs of sorrow for you. 

Bert. In your pity 

My cruelty shows more monstrous. Yet I am not, 
Though most ingrateful, grown to such a height 200 

Of impudence, as, in my wishes only, 
To ask your pardon. If, as now I fall 
Prostrate before your feet, you will vouchsafe 
To act your own revenge, treading upon me 
As a viper eating through the bowels of 
Your benefits, to whom, with liberty, 
I owe my being, 'twill take from the burthen 
That now is insupportable. 

Cam. Pray you, rise. 

As I wish peace and quiet to my soul, 
I do forgive you heartily. Yet, excuse me, 21a 

Though I deny myself a blessing that, 
By the favour of the duchess, seconded 
With your submission, is offered to me. 
Let not the reason I allege for 't grieve you, — 
You have been false once. I have done; and if, 
When I am married, as this day I will be, 
As a perfect sign of your atonement with me, 
You wish me joy, I will receive it for 
Full satisfaction of all obligations 
In which you stand bound to me. 

Bert. I will do it, 220 

And, what's more, in despite of sorrow, live 



scene 11] THE MAID OF HONOUR 205 

To see myself undone, beyond all hope 
To be made up again. 

Syl. My blood begins 

To come to my heart again. 

Cam. Pray you, signior Sylli, 

Call in the holy friar ; he's prepared 
For finishing the work. 

Syl. I knew I was 

The man. Heaven make me thankful ! 

Rob. Who is this ? 

A st. His father was the banker of Palermo, 
And this the heir of his great wealth. His wisdom 
Was not hereditary. 

Syl. Though you know me not, 230 

Your majesty owes me a round sum ; I have 
A seal or two to witness. Yet, if you please 
To wear my colours, and dance at my wedding, 
I'll never sue you. 

Rob. And I'll grant your suit. 

Syl. Gracious madonna, noble general, 
Brave captains, and my quondam rivals, wear them, 

[Gives them favours. 
Since I am confident you dare not harbour 
A thought but that way current. [Exit. 

Aurel. For my part 

I cannot guess the issue. 

Re-enter Sylli with Father Paulo 

Syl. % Do your duty ; 

And with all speed you can, you may dispatch us. 240 

Paul. Thus, as a principal ornament to the church, 
I seize her. 

All. How ! 

Rob. So young, and so religious ! 

Paul. She has forsook the world. 



206 THE MAID OF HONOUR [act v 

Syl. And Sylli too ! 

I shall run mad. 

Rob. Hence with the fool ! — [Sylli is thrust off.] — 
Proceed, sir. 

Paul. Look on this maid of honour, now 
Truly honoured in her vow 
She pays to Heaven ; vain delight 
By day, or pleasure of the night, 
She no more thinks of. This fair hair — 
Favours for great kings to wear — 250 

Must now be shorn ; her rich array 
Changed into a homely grey. 
The dainties with which she w T as fed, 
And her proud flesh pampered, 
Must not be tasted ; from the spring, 
For wine, cold water we will bring ; 
And with fasting mortify 
The feasts of sensuality. 
Her jewels, beads ; and she must look 
Not in a glass, but holy book, 260 

To teach her the ne'er-erring way 
To immortality. O may 
She, as she purposes to be 
A child new-born to piety, 
Persever in it, and good men, 
With saints and angels, say, Amen ! 

Cam. This is the marriage, this the port to which 
My vows must steer me ! Fill my spreading sails 
With the pure wind of your devotions for me, 
That I may touch the secure haven, where 270 

Eternal happiness keeps her residence, 
Temptations to frailty never entering ! 
I am dead to the world, and thus dispose 
Of what I leave behind me; and, dividing 
My state into three parts, I thus bequeath it: 
The first to the fair nunnery, to which 
I dedicate the last and better part 



scene n] THE MAID OF HONOUR 207 

Of my frail life ; a second portion 

To pious uses ; and the third to thee, 

Adorni, for thy true and faithful service. 280 

And, ere I take my last farewell, with hope 

To find a grant, my suit to you is, that 

You would, for my sake, pardon this young man, 

And to his merits love him, and no further. 

Rob. I thus confirm it. [Gives his hand to Adorni. 

Cam. And, as e'er you hope, [To Bertoldo. 

Like me, to be made happy, I conjure you 
To reassume your order ; and in fighting 
Bravely against the enemies of our faith 
Redeem your mortgaged honour. 

Gonz. I restore this. [Gives him the white cross. 

Once more brothers in arms. 

Bert. I'll live and die so. 290 

Cam. To you my pious wishes ! And, to end 
All differences, great sir, I beseech you 
To be an arbitrator, and compound 
The quarrel long continuing between 
The duke and duchess. 

Rob. I will take it into 

My special care. 

Cam. I am then at rest. Now, father, 

Conduct me where you please. 

[Exeunt Paulo and Camiola. 

Rob. She well deserves 

Her name, the maid of honour ! May she stand 
To all posterity a fair example 

For noble maids to imitate ! Since to live 300 

In wealth and pleasure's common, but to part with 
Such poisoned baits is rare ; there being nothing 
Upon this stage of life to be commended, 
Though well begun, till it be fully ended. 

[Flourish. Exeunt. 



A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD 
DEBTS 



A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 

The date of composition or first production of this play is 
not discovered. It is said by Gifford, who edited the works of 
Massinger in 1805, that Sir Giles Overreach was copied from 
the character of Sir Giles Mompesson, holder of a patent under 
James for the manufacture of gold and silver thread. His 
partner, Sir Francis Michel, was used as the prototype of 
Greedy. These men were alleged to have produced gold and 
silver by alchemic processes which destroyed the lives of 
their workmen. Popular clamour caused the annulment of 
the patent and their prosecution. The play was printed in 
quarto in 1633. Some features of the plot have apparently 
been borrowed from Middleton's A Trick to Catch the Old 
One. 



210 



To the Right Honourable 
ROBERT, EARL OF CARNARVON, 

Master Falconer of England 

My Good Lord, 

Pardon, I beseech you, my boldness, in presuming to 
shelter this Comedy under the wings of your lordship's 
favour and protection. I am not ignorant (having never yet 
deserved you in my service) that it cannot but meet with a 
severe construction, if, in the clemency of your noble dis- 
position, you fashion not a better defence for me, than I can 
fancy for myself. All I can allege is, that divers Italian 
princes, and lords of eminent rank in England, have not 
disdained to receive and read poems of this nature ; nor am 
I wholly lost in my hopes, but that your honour (who have 
ever expressed yourself a favourer, and friend to the Muses) 
may vouchsafe, in your gracious acceptance of this trifle, to 
give me encouragement to present you with some laboured 
work, and of a higher strain, hereafter. I was born a devoted 
servant to the thrice noble family of your incomparable lady, n 
and am most ambitious, but with a becoming distance, to 
be known to your lordship, which, if you please to admit, 
I shall embrace it as a bounty, that while I live shall oblige 
me to acknowledge you for my noble patron, and profess 
myself to be, 

Your honour's true servant, 

Philip Massinger. 



DRAMATIS PERSONS 

Lord Lovell. 

Sir Giles Overreach, a cruel extortioner. 

Frank Wellborn, a Prodigal. 

Tom Allworth, a young Gentleman, Page to Lord Lovell. 

Greedy, a hungry Justice of Peace. 

M arrall, a Term-Driver n ; a creature of Sir Giles Overreach. 

Order, Steward 



to Lady Allworth. 



Amble, Usher 

Furnace, Cook 

Watch all, Porter 

Willdo, a Parson. 

Tapwell, an Alehouse Keeper. 

Creditors, Servants, &c. 

Lady Allworth, a rich Widow. 

Margaret, Daughter of Sir Giles Overreach. 

Froth, Wife of Tapwell. 

Chambermaid. 

Waiting Woman. 

Scene — The Country near Nottingham 



212 



A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD 
DEBTS 

ACT THE FIRST 

Scene I 

Before Tapwell's House 

Enter Wellborn in tattered apparel, Tapwell, and Froth 

Well. No bouse ? nor no tobacco ? 

Tap. Not a suck, sir ; 

Nor the remainder of a single can 
Left by a drunken porter, all night palled too. 

Froth. Not the dropping of the tap for your morning's 
draught, sir. 
'Tis verity, I assure you. 

Well. Verity, you brach ! 

The devil turned precisian ! Rogue, what am I ? 

Tap. Troth, durst I trust you with a looking-glass, 
To let you see your trim shape, you would quit me, n . 
And take the name yourself. 

Well How, dog ! 

Tap. Even so, sir. 

And I must tell you, if you but advance 10 

Your Plymouth cloak n you shall be soon instructed 
There dwells, and within call, if it please your worship, 
A potent monarch called the constable, 
That does command a citadel called the stocks ; 
Whose guards are certain files of rusty billmen 11 
Such as with great dexterity will hale 
Your tattered, lousy — 

213 



214 A NEW WAY T0 PAY OLD DEBTS [act i 

Well. Rascal! Slave! 

Froth. No rage, sir. 

Tap. At his own peril. 11 — Do not put yourself 
In too much heat, there being no water near 
To quench your thirst ; and sure, for other liquor, 20 

As mighty ale, or beer, they are things, I take it, 
You must no more remember; not in a dream, sir. 

Well. Why, thou unthankful villain, dar'st thou talk 
thus! 
Is not thy house, and all thou hast, my gift ? 

Tap. I find it not in chalk ; n and Timothy Tapwell 
Does keep no other register. 

Well. Am not I he 

Whose riots fed and clothed thee ? Wert thou not 
Born on my father's land, and proud to be 
A drudge in his house ? 

Tap. What I was, sir, it skills not ; 

What you are, is apparent. Now, for a farewell, 30 

Since you talk of father, in my hope it will torment you, 
I'll briefly tell your story. Your dead father, 
My quondam master, was a man of worship, 
Old Sir John Wellborn, justice of peace and quorum? 
And stood fair to be custos rotulorum ; n 
Bore the whole sway of the shire, kept a great house, 
Relieved the poor, and so forth ; but he dying, 
And the twelve hundred a year coming to you, 
Late Master Francis, but now forlorn Wellborn — 

Well. Slave, stop ! or I shall lose myself. 

Froth. Very hardly ; 

You cannot out of your way. 

Tap. But to my story. 41 

You were then a lord of acres, the prime gallant," 
And T your under-butler. Note the change now. 
You had a merry time oft; hawks and hounds, 
With choice of running horses; mistresses 
Of all sorts and all sizes, yet so hot, 
As their embraces made your lordship melt; 



ene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 21 5 

lich your uncle, Sir Giles Overreach, observing — 
Resolving not to lose a drop of them — 
On foolish mortgages, statutes, and bonds, 50 

For a while supplied your looseness, and then left you. 

Well. Some curate hath penned this invective, 
mongrel, 
And you have studied it. 

Tap. I have not done yet. 

Your land gone, and your credit not worth a token, 11 
You grew the common borrower ; no man 'scaped 
Your paper-pellets, n from the gentleman 
To the beggars on highways, that sold you switches 
In your gallantry. 

Well. I shall switch your brains out. 

Tap. Where poor Tim Tap well, with a little stock, 
Some forty pounds or so, bought a small cottage ; 60 

Humbled myself to marriage with my Froth here, 
Gave entertainment — 

Well. Yes, to whores and canters, 

Clubbers by night. 

Tap. True, but they brought in profit, 

And had a gift to pay for what they called for, 
And stuck not n like your mastership. The poor income 
I gleaned from them hath made me in my parish 
Thought worthy to be scavenger, and in time 
I may rise to be overseer of the poor ; 
Which if I do, on your petition, Wellborn, 
I may allow you thirteen-pence a quarter. 11 70 

And you shall thank my worship. 

Well. Thus, you dog-bolt, n 

And thus — [Beats and kicks him. 

Tap. [To his wife.] Cry out for help ! 

Well. Stir, and thou diest ! 

Your potent prince, the constable, shall not save you. 
Hear me, ungrateful hell-hound ! Did not I 
Make purses n for you ? Then you licked my boots, 
And thought your holiday cloak too coarse to clean them. 



2l6 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act i 

'Twas I that, when I heard thee swear if ever 
Thou couldst arrive at forty pounds, thou wouldst 
Live like an emperor, — 'twas I that gave it 
In ready gold. Deny this, wretch ! 

Tap. I must, sir ; 80 

For, from the tavern to the taphouse, all, 
On forfeiture of their licences, stand bound 
Ne'er to remember who their best guests were, 
If they grew poor like you. 

Well. • They are well rewarded 

That beggar themselves to make such cuckolds rich. 
Thou viper, thankless viper ! Impudent bawd ! 
But since you are grown forgetful, I will help 
Your memory, and tread you into mortar, n 
Nor leave one bone unbroken. [Beats him again. 

Tap. O ! 

Froth. Ask mercy. 

-Enter Allworth 

Well. 'Twill not be granted. 

All. Hold — for my sake, hold. 

Deny me, Frank ! They are not worth your anger. 91 

Well. For once thou hast redeemed them from this 
sceptre. n 
But let them vanish, creeping on their knees, 
And, if they grumble, I revoke my pardon. 

Froth. This comes of your prating, husband ; you pre- 
sumed 
On your ambling wit, and must use your glib tongue, 
Though you are beaten lame for't. 

Tap. Patience, Froth. 

There's law to cure our bruises. 

[They crawl of on their hands and knees. 

Well. Sent to your mother ? 

All. My lady, Frank, my patroness, my all ! 
She's such a mourner for my father's death, ioq 






scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 2 1 7 

And, in her love to him, so favours me, 

That I cannot pay too much observance to her. 

There are few such stepdames. 

Well. Tis a noble widow, 

And keeps her reputation pure, and clear 
From the least taint of infamy ; her life, 
With the splendour of her actions, leaves no tongue 
To envy or detraction. Prithee tell me, 
Has she no suitors ? 

All. Even the best of the shire, Frank, 

My lord excepted ; such as sue and send, 
And send and sue again, but to no purpose. no 

Their frequent visits have not gained her presence. 
Yet she's so far from sullenness and pride, 
That I dare undertake you shall meet from her 
A liberal entertainment. I can give you 
A catalogue of her suitors' names. 

Well. Forbear it, 

While I give you good counsel ; I am bound to it. 
Thy father was my friend, and that affection 
I bore to him, in right descends to thee. 
Thou art a handsome and a hopeful youth, 
Nor will I have the least affront stick on thee, 120 

If I with any danger can prevent it. 

All. I thank your noble care. But, pray you, in what 
Do I run the hazard ? 

Well. Art thou not in love ? 

Put it not off with wonder. n 

All. In love, at my years ! 

Well. You think you walk in clouds, but are trans- 
parent. 
I have heard all, and the choice that you have made, 
And, with my finger, can point out the north star 
By which the loadstone of your folly's guided ; 
And, to confirm this true, what think you of 
Fair Margaret, the only child and heir 130 

Of Cormorant Overreach ? Does it blush n and start, 



2l8 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act i 

To hear her only named ? blush at your want 
Of wit and reason. 

All. You are too bitter, sir. 

Well. Wounds of this nature are not to be cured 
With balms, but corrosives. I must be plain. 
Art thou scarce manumised from the porter's lodge n 
And yet sworn servant to the pantofle, n 
And dar'st thou dream of marriage ? I fear 
'Twill be concluded for impossible 

That there is now, or e'er shall be hereafter, 140 

A handsome page or player's boy of fourteen 
But either loves a wench or drabs love him, 
Court-waiters not exempted. 

All. This is madness. 

Howe'er you have discovered my intents, 
You know my aims are lawful ; and if ever 
The queen of flowers, the glory of the spring, 
The sweetest comfort to our smell, the rose, 
Sprang from an envious n briar, I may infer 
There's such disparity in their conditions 
Between the goodness of my soul, the daughter, 15c 

And the base churl her father. 

Well. Grant this true, 

As I believe it, canst thou ever hope 
To enjoy a quiet bed with her whose father 
Ruined thy state? 

All. And yours too. 

Well. I confess it ; 

True ; I must tell you as a friend, and freely, 
That, where impossibilities are apparent, 
'Tis indiscretion to nourish hopes. 
Canst thou imagine — let not self-love blind thee — 
Thai Sir Giles Overreach, that, to make her great 
In swelling titles, without touch of conscience 160 

Will cut his neighbour's throat, and I hope his own 

too, 
Will e'er consent to make her thine? Give o'er, 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 219 

And think of some course suitable to thy rank, 
And prosper in it. 

All. You have well advised me. 

But in the mean time you that are so studious 
Of my affairs wholly neglect your own. 
Remember yourself, and in what plight you are. 

Well. No matter, no matter. 

All. Yes, 'tis much material. 11 

You know my fortune -and my means ; yet something 
I can spare from myself to help your wants. 170 

Well How's this? 

All. Nay, be not angry ; there's eight pieces 11 

To put you in better fashion. 11 

Well. Money from thee ! 

From a boy ! a stipendiary ! one that lives 
At the devotion of a stepmother, 
xAnd the uncertain favour of a lord ! 
I'll eat my arms first. Howsoe'er blind Fortune 
Hath spent the utmost of her malice on me — 
Though I am vomited out of an alehouse, 
And thus accoutred — know not where to eat, 
Or drink, or sleep, but underneath this canopy — 180 
Although I thank thee, I despise thy offer : 
And as I in my madness broke my state 
Without the assistance of another's brain, 
In my right wits I'll piece it ; at the worst, 
Die thus and be forgotten. 

AIL A strange humour ! [Exeunt. 



220 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act i 

Scene II 

A Room in Lady Allworth's House 
Enter Order, Amble, Furnace, and Watchall 

Ord. Set all things right, or, as my name is Order, 
And by this staff of office that commands you, 
This chain and double ruff, symbols of power, 
Whoever misses in his function, 11 
For one whole week makes forfeiture of his breakfast, 
And privilege in the wine-cellar. 

Amb. You are merry, 

Good master steward. 

Furn. Let him ; I'll be angry. 

Amb. Why, fellow Furnace, 'tis not twelve o'clock yet, 
Nor dinner taking up ; then, 'tis allowed, 
Cooks, by their places, may be choleric. n 10 

Furn. You think you have spoke wisely, goodman 
Amble, 
My lady's go-before ! 

Ord. Nay, nay, no wrangling. 

Furn. Twit me with the authority of the kitchen ! 
At all hours, and all places, I'll be angry ; 
And thus provoked, when I am at my prayers 
I will be angry. 

Amb. There was no hurt meant. 

Furn. I am friends with thee ; and yet I will be angry. 

Ord. With whom ? 

Furn. No matter whom. Yet, now I think on it, 

I am angry with my lady. 

Watch. Heaven forbid, man ! 

Ord. What cause has she given thee ? 

Furn. Cause enough, master steward. 

I was entertained by her to please her palate, 21 

And, till she forswore eating, I performed it. 
Now, since our master, noble Allworth, died, 



scene 11] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 221 

Though I crack my brains to find out tempting sauces, 

And raise fortifications in the pastry n 

Such as might serve for models in the Low Countries ; 

Which, if they had been practised at Breda, n 

Spinola might have thrown his cap at it, and ne'er took it. 

Atnb. But you had wanted matter there to work on. 

Furn. Matter ! With six eggs, and a strike of rye 
meal, 30 

I had kept the town till doomsday, perhaps longer. 

Ord. But what's this to your pet n against my lady ? 

Furn. What's this? Marry n this : when I am three 
parts roasted 
xAnd the fourth part parboiled, to prepare her viands 
She keeps her chamber, dines with a panada 
Or water-gruel, my sweat never thought on. 

Ord. But your art is seen in the dining-room. 

Furn. By whom ? 

By such as pretend love to her, but come 
To feed upon her. Yet, of all the harpies 
That do devour her, I am out of charity 40 

With none so much as the thin-gutted squire 
That's stolen into commission. 11 

Or d. Justice Greedy ? 

Furn. The same, the same. Meat's cast away upon 
him; 
It never thrives. He holds this paradox, 
Who eats not well, can ne'er do justice well. 
His stomach's as insatiate as the grave, 
Or strumpets' ravenous appetites. [Knocking within. 

Watch. One knocks. [Exit. 

Ord. Our late young master ! 

Re-enter Watchall and Allworth 

Amb. Welcome, sir. 

Furn. Your hand. 

If you have a stomach, a cold bake-meat's ready. 



222 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act i 

Ord. His father's picture in little. 11 
Fum. We are all your servants. 

Amb. In you he lives. 

All. At once, my thanks to all. 5 1 

This is yet some comfort. Is my lady stirring ? 

Enter Lady All worth, Waiting Woman, and Chamber- 
maid 

Ord. Her presence answers for us. 

L. AIL Sort those silks well. 

I'll take the air alone. 

[Exeunt Waiting Woman and Chambermaid. 

Fum. You air and air ; 

But will you never taste but spoon-meat more ? 
To what use serve I ? 

L. All. Prithee, be not angry; 

I shall ere long. I' the mean time, there is gold 
To buy thee aprons, and a summer suit. 

Fum. I am appeased, and Furnace now grows cool. 

L. All. And, as I gave directions, if this morning 60 
I am visited by any, entertain them 
As heretofore. But say, in my excuse, 
I am indisposed. 

Ord. I shall, madam. 

L. All. Do, and leave them. 

Nay, stay you, All worth. 

[Exeunt Order, Amble, Furnace, and Watchall. 

All. I shall gladly grow here, 

To wait on your commands. 

L. All. So soon turned courtier ! 

All. Style not that courtship, madam, which is duty 
Purchased on your part. 

/.. All. Well, you shall o'ercome; 

111 not conl end in words. How is it with 
Your noble master? 

< I //. Ever like himself, 



scene ii ] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 223 

No scruple lessened in the full weight of honour, 70 

He did command me, pardon my presumption, 
As his unworthy deputy, to kiss 
Your ladyship's fair hands. 

L. All. I am honoured in 

His favour to me. Does he hold his purpose 
For the Low Countries ? 

AIL Constantly, good madam ; 

But he will in person first present his service. 

L. AIL And how approve you of his course ? You are 
yet 
Like virgin parchment, capable of any 
Inscription, vicious or honourable. 

I will not force your will, but leave you free 80 

To your own election. 

AIL Any form you please, 

I will put on. But, might I make my choice, 
With humble emulation I would follow 
The path my lord marks to me. 

L. AIL 'Tis well answered. 

And I commend your spirit. You had a father — 
Blessed be his memory — that some few hours 
Before the will of Heaven took him from me, 
Who did commend you, by the dearest ties 
Of perfect love between us, to my charge ; 
And, therefore, what I speak, you are bound to hear 9° 
With such respect as if he lived in me. 
He was my husband, and howe'er you are not 
Son of my womb, you may be of my love, 
Provided you deserve it. 

AIL I have found you, 

Most honoured madam, the best mother to me, 
And, with my utmost strengths of care and service, 
Will labour that you never may repent 
Your bounties showered upon me. 

L. AIL I much hope it. 

These were your father's words : "If e'er my son 



224 A NEW WAY T0 PAY OLD DEBTS [act i 

Follow the war, tell him it is a school ico 

Where all the principles tending to honour 

Are taught, if truly followed. But for such 

As repair thither as a place n in which 

They do presume they may with licence practise 

Their lusts and riots, they shall never merit 

The noble name of soldiers. To dare boldly, 

In a fair cause, and for their country's safety, 

To run upon the cannon's mouth undaunted ; 

To obey their leaders, and shun mutinies ; 

To bear with patience the winter's cold no 

And summer's scorching heat, and not to faint, 

When plenty of provision j^ails, with hunger ; 

Are the essential parts make up a soldier, 

Not swearing, dice, or drinking." 

All. , There's no syllable 

You speak, but is to me an oracle, 
Which but to doubt were impious. 

L. All. To conclude : 

Beware ill company, for often men 
Are like to those with whom they do converse ; 
And, from one man I warn you, and that's Wellborn, — 
Not 'cause he's poor, that rather claims your pity ; 120 
But that he's in his manners so debauched, 
And hath to vicious courses sold himself. 
'Tis true, your father loved him, while he was 
Worthy the loving ; but if he had lived 
To have seen him as he is, he had cast him off, 
As you must do. 

All. I shall obey in all things. 

L. AIL Follow me to my chamber, you shall have gold 
To furnish you like my son, and still supplied, 
As I hear from you. 

All. I am still your creature. [Exeunt. 



scene m] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 225 

SCENE III 

A Hall in the same 

Enter Overreach, Greedy, Order, Amble, Furnace, 
Watchall, and Marrall 

Greedy. Not to be seen ! 

Over. Still cloistered up ! Her reason, 

I hope, assures her, though she make herself 
Close prisoner ever for her husband's loss, 
'Twill not recover him. 

Ord. Sir, it is her will, 

Which we, that are her servants, ought to serve, 
And not dispute. How r e'er, you are nobly welcome ; 
And, if you please to stay, that you may think so, 
There came, not six days since, from Hull, a pipe 
Of rich Canary, which shall spend itself 
For my lady's honour. 

Greedy. Is it of the right race ? 10 

Ord. Yes, Master Greedy. 

Amb. How his mouth runs o'er ! n 

Furn. I'll make it run, and run. Save your good 
worship ! 

Greedy. Honest Master Cook, thy hand ; again. How 
I love thee ! 
Are the good dishes still in being ? Speak, boy. 

Furn. If you have a mind to feed, there is a chine 
Of beef, well seasoned. 

Greedy. Good ! 

Furn. A pheasant, larded. 

Greedy. That I might now give thanks for't ! 

Furn. Other kickshaws. 

Besides, there came last night, from the forest of Sher- 
wood, 
The fattest stag I ever cooked. 

Greedy. A stag, man ! 



226 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act i 

Furn. A stag, sir ; part of it prepared for dinner, 20 
And baked in puff-paste. 

Greedy, Puff-paste too ! Sir Giles, 

A ponderous chine of beef ! a pheasant larded ! 
And red deer too, Sir Giles, and baked in puff-paste ! 
All business set aside, let us give thanks here. n 

Furn. How the lean skeleton's rapt ! 

Over. You know we cannot. 

Mar. Your worships are to sit on a commission, 
And if you fail to come, you lose the cause. 

Greedy. Cause me no causes. I'll prove't, for such 
dinner, 
We may put off a commission ; you shall find it 
Henrici decirno quarto? 

Over. Fie, Master Greedy ! 30 

Will you lose me a thousand pounds for a dinner ? 
No more, for shame ! We must forget the belly 
When we think of profit. 

Greedy. Well, you shall o'er-rule me ; 

I could e'en cry now. — Do you hear, Master Cook, 
Send but a corner of that immortal pasty, n 
And I, in thankfulness, will, by your boy, 
Send you, — a brace of three-pences. 

Furn. Will you be so prodigal ? 

Enter Wellborn 

Over. Remember me to your lady. Who have we 
here? 

Well. You know me. 

Over. I did once, but now I will not ; 

Thou art no blood of mine. Avaunt, thou beggar ! 40 
If ever thou presume to own me more, 
I'll have thee caged and whipped. 

Greedy. I'll grant the warrant. 

Think of Pie-corner, D Furnace ! 

[Exeunt Overreach, Greedy, and Marram,. 



scene in] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 227 

Watch. Will you out, sir ? 

I wonder how you durst creep in. 

Ord. This is rudeness, 

And saucy impudence. 

Amb. Cannot you stay 

To be served, among your fellows, from the basket, 11 
But you must press into the hall ? 

Furn. Prithee, vanish 

Into some outhouse, though it be the pigsty. 
My scullion shall come to thee. 

Enter Allworth 

Well. This is rare. 49 

Oh, here's Tom Allworth. Tom ! 

All. . We must be strangers, 

Nor would I have you seen here for a million. [Exit. 

Well. Better and better. He contemns me too ! 

Enter W 7 aiting Woman and Chambermaid 

Woman. Foh, what a smell's here ! What thing's this ? 

Cham. A creature 

Made out of the privy. Let us hence, for love's sake, 
Or I shall swoon. 

Woman. I begin to faint already. 

[Exeunt Waiting Woman and Chambermaid. 

Watch. Will you know your w T ay ? 

Amb. Or shall we teach it you, 

By the head and shoulders ? 

Well. No ; I will not stir ; 

Do you mark, I will not. Let me see the wretch 
That dares attempt to force me. Why, you slaves, 
Created only to make legs, n and cringe ; 60 

To carry in a dish, and shift a trencher ; 
That have not souls only to hope a blessing 
Beyond black-jacks or flagons ; you, that were born 



228 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act i 

Only to consume meat and drink, and batten 
Upon reversions ! n — Who advances ? Who 
Shows me the way ? 
Ord. My lady ! 

Enter Lady All worth, Waiting Woman, and Chamber- 
maid 

Cham. Here's the monster. 

Woman. Sweet madam, keep your glove to your nose. 

Cham. Or let me 

Fetch some perfumes may be predominant ; 
You wrong yourself else. 

Well. Madam, my designs 

Bear me to you. 

L. All. To me ! 

Well. And though I have met with 

But ragged entertainment from your grooms here, 71 
I hope from you to receive that noble usage 
As may become the true friend of your husband, 
And then I shall forget these. 

L. All. I am amazed 

To see and hear this rudeness. Darest thou think, 
Though sworn, n that it can ever find belief, 
That I, who to the best men of this country 
Denied my presence since my husband's death, 
Can fall so low as to change words with thee, 
Thou son of infamy ! Forbear my house, 80 

And know and keep the distance that's between us; 
Or, though it be against my gentler temper, 
I shall take order n you no more shall be 
An eyesore to me. 

Well. Scorn me not, good lady, 

But, as in form you are angelical, 
Imitate the heavenly natures, and vouchsafe 
At the least awhile to hear me. You will grant 
The blood that runs in this arm is as noble 



scene mj A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 229 

As that which fills your veins. Those costly jewels, 
And those rich clothes you wear, your men's observance, 
And women's flattery, are in you no virtues, 91 

Nor these rags, w T ith my poverty, in me vices. 
You have a fair fame, and, I know, deserve it ; 
Yet, lady, I must say, in nothing more 
Than in the pious sorrow you have shown 
For your late noble husband. 

Ord. How she starts ! 

Furn. And hardly can keep ringer from the eye, 
To hear him named. 

L. All. Have you aught else to say ? 

Well. That husband, madam, was once in his fortune 
Almost as low as I ; w T ant, debts, and quarrels 100 

Lay heavy on him. Let it not be thought 
A boast in me, though I say, I relieved him. 
'Twas I that gave him fashion ; n mine the sword, 
That did on all occasions second his. 
I brought him on and off with honour, lady ; 
And when in all men's judgements he was sunk, 
And, in his own hopes, not to be buoyed up, 
I stepped unto him, took him by the hand, 
And set him upright. 

Furn. Are not we base rogues, 

That could forget this ? 

Well. I confess, you made him no 

Master of your estate ; nor could your friends, 
Though he brought no wealth with him, blame you 

for it ; 
For he had a shape, and to that shape a mind 
Made up of all parts, either great or noble ; 
So winning a behaviour, not to be 
Resisted, madam. 

L. All. 'Tis most true, he had. 

Well. For his sake, then, in that I was his friend, 
Do not contemn me. 

L. AIL For what's past excuse me, 



230 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act i 

I will redeem it. Order, give the gentleman 
A hundred pounds. 

Well. No, madam, on no terms. 120 

I will nor beg nor borrow sixpence of you, 
But be supplied elsewhere, or want thus ever. 
Only one suit I make, which you deny not 
To strangers ; and 'tis this. [Whispers to her. 

L. All. Fie ! nothing else ? 

Well. Nothing, unless you please to charge your 
servants 
To throw away a little respect upon me. 

L. All. What you demand is yours. 

Well. I thank you, lady. — 

[Aside.] Now what can be wrought out of such a suit 
Is yet in supposition. — I have said all; 129 

When you please, you may retire. [Exit Lady All. 

Nay, all's forgotten ; 
[To the Servants. 
And, for a lucky omen to my project, 
Shake hands, and end all quarrels in the cellar. 

Ord. Agreed, agreed. 

Furn. Still merry Master Wellborn. 

[Exeunt. 



ACT THE SECOND 

Scene I 

A Room in Overreach's House 

Enter Overreach and Marrall 

Over. He's gone, I warrant thee ; this commission 
crushed him. 

Mar. Your worships n have the way on't, and ne'er 
miss 
To squeeze these un thrifts into air ; and yet, 
The chapfallen justice D did his part, returning 
For your advantage the certificate, 11 
Against his conscience, and his knowledge too, 
With your good favour, to the utter ruin 
Of the poor farmer. 

Over. 'Twas for these good ends 

i I made him a justice. He that bribes his belly, 
Is certain to command his soul. 

Mar. I wonder, 10 

Still with your licence, why, your worship having 
! The power to put this thin-gut in commission, 
You are not in't yourself ? 

Over. Thou art a fool. 

In being out of office I am out of danger ; 
Where, if I were a justice, besides the trouble, 
I might or out of wilfulness or error 
Run myself finely into a prcemunire, n 
And so become a prey to the informer. 
No, I'll have none oft ; 'tis enough I keep 
Greedy at my devotion." So he serve 20 

231 



232 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act ii 

My purposes, let him hang or damn, I care not. 
Friendship is but a word. 

Mar. You are all wisdom. 

Over. I would be worldly wise. For the other wisdom, 
That does prescribe us a well-governed life, 
And to do right to others as ourselves, 
I value not an atom. 

Mar. What course take you, 

With your good patience, to hedge in the manor 
Of your neighbour, Master Frugal ? As 'tis said 
He will nor sell, nor borrow, nor exchange ; 
And his land, lying in the midst of your many lordships, 
Is a foul blemish. 

Over. I have thought on't, Marrall, 31 

And it shall take. I must have all men sellers, 
And I the only purchaser. 

Mar. 'Tis most fit, sir. 

Over. I'll therefore buy some cottage near his manor, 
Which done, I'll make my men break ope his fences, 
Ride o'er his standing corn, and in the night 
Set fire on his barns, or break his cattle's legs. 
These trespasses draw on suits, and suits expenses, 
Which I can spare, but will soon beggar him. 
When I have harried him thus two or three year, 40 

Though he sue in forma pauperis* in spite 
Of all his thrift and care, he'll grow behindhand. 

Mar. The best I ever heard ! I could adore you. 

Over. Then, with the favour of my man of law, 
I will pretend some title. W T ant will force him 
To put it to arbitrament ; then, if he sell 
For half the value, he shall have ready money, 
And I possess his land. 

Mar. 'Tis above wonder ! 

Well born was apt to sell, and needed not 
These fine arts, sir, to hook him in. 

Over. Well thought on. 

This varlet, Marrall, lives too long, to upbraid mc 51 



: 



ene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 233 



With my close cheat put upon him. n Will nor cold 
Nor hunger kill him ? 

Mar. I know not what to think on't. 

I have used all means ; and the last night I caused 
His host, the tapster, to turn him out of doors ; 
And have been since with all your friends and tenants, 
And, on the forfeit of your favour, charged them, 
Though a crust of mouldy bread would keep him from 

starving, 
Yet they should not relieve him. This is done, sir. 

Over. That was something, Marrall ; but thou must go 
further, 60 

And suddenly, Marrall. 

Mar. Where, and when you please, sir. 

Over. I would have thee seek him out, and, if thou 
canst, I 

Persuade him that 'tis better steal than beg. 
Then, if I prove he has but robbed a henroost, 
Not all the world shall save him from the gallows. 11 
Do any thing to work him to despair, 
And 'tis thy masterpiece. 

Mar. I will do my best, sir. 

Over. I am now on my main work with the Lord Lovell, 
The gallant-minded, popular Lord Lovell, 
The minion of the people's love. I hear 70 

He's come into the country, and my aims are 
To insinuate myself into his knowledge, 
And then invite him to my house. 

Mar. I have you ; 

This points at my young mistress. 

Over. She must part with 

That humble title, and write honourable, 
Right honourable, 11 Marrall, my right honourable daughter, 
If all I have, or e'er shall get, will do it. 
I'll have her well attended ; there are ladies 
Of errant knights decayed and brought so low, 
That for cast clothes and meat will gladly serve her. 80 



234 A NEW WAY T0 PAY 0LD DEBTS [act ii 

And 'tis my glory, though I come from the city, 
To have their issue whom I have undone, 
To kneel to mine as bondslaves. 

Mar. 'Tis fit state, sir. 

Over. And therefore, I'll not have a chambermaid 
That ties her shoes, or any meaner office, 
But such whose fathers were right worshipful. 
'Tis a rich man's pride ! there having ever been 
More than a feud, a strange antipathy, 
Between us and true gentry. 

Enter Wellborn 



Mar. See, who's here, sir. 89 

Over. Hence, monster ! prodigy ! 

Well. \ Sir, your wife's nephew. 

She and my father tumbled in one belly. 

Over. Avoid my sight ! Thy breath's infectious, rogue ! 
I shun thee as a leprosy, or the plague. 
Come hither, Marrall. [Aside.] This is the time to work 
him. [Exit. 

Mar. I warrant you, sir. 

Well. By this light I think he's mad. 

Mar. Mad ! Had you ta'en compassion on yourself, 
You long since had been mad. 

Well. You have ta'en a course 

Between you and my venerable uncle, 
To make me so. 

Mar. The more pale-spirited you, 

That would not be instructed. I swear deeply — 

Well. By what? 

Mar. By my religion. 

Well. Thy religion ! 

The devil's creed. But what would you have done? 

Mar. Had there been but one tree in all the shire, 
Nor any hope to compass a penny halter, 
Before, like you,. I had outlived my fortunes, 



■ 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 235 

A withe had served my turn to hang myself. 

I am zealous in your cause ; pray you hang yourself, 

And presently, as you love your credit. 

Well. I thank you. 

Mar. Will you stay till you die in a ditch, or lice 
devour you ? 
Or, if you dare not do the feat yourself, no 

But that you'll put the state to charge and trouble, 
Is there no purse to be cut, house to be broken, 
Or market-woman with eggs, that you may murder, 
And so dispatch the business ? 

Well. Here's variety, 

I must confess. But I'll accept of none 
Of all your gentle offers, I assure you. 

Mar. Why, have you hope ever to eat again, 
Or drink, or be the master of three farthings ? 
If you like not hanging, drown yourself ! Take some 

course 
For your reputation. 

Well. 'Twill not do, dear tempter, 120 

With all the rhetoric the fiend hath taught you. 
I am as far as thou art from despair. 
Nay, I have confidence, which is more than hope, 
To live, and suddenly, better than ever — 

Mar. Ha ! ha ! These castles you build in the air 
Will not persuade me or to give or lend 
A token to you. 

Well. I'll be more kind to thee. 

Come, thou shalt dine with me. 

Mar. With you ! 

Well. Nay more, dine gratis. 

Mar. Under what hedge, I pray you? or at w T hose 

COSt ? 129 

Are they padders or abram-men that are your consorts ? 

Well. Thou art incredulous ; but thou shalt dine 
Not alone at her house, but with a gallant lady ; 
With me, and with a lady. 



236 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act 11 

Mar. Lady ! what lady ? 

With the Lady of the Lake, n or queen of fairies ? 
For I know it must be an enchanted dinner. 

Well. With the Lady Allworth, knave. 

Mar. Nay, now there's hope 

Thy brain is cracked. 

Well. Mark there, with what respect 

I am entertained. 

Mar. With choice, no doubt, of dog-whips. 

Why, dost thou ever hope to pass her porter ? 

Well. 'Tis not far off, go with me; trust thine own 
eyes. 140 

Mar. Troth, in my hope, or my assurance rather, 
To see thee curvet, 11 and mount like a dog in a blanket, 
If ever thou presume to pass her threshold, 
I will endure thy company. 

Well. Come along then. [Exeunt. 



Scene II 

A Room in Lady Allworth's House 

Enter Allworth, Waiting Woman, Chambermaid, 
Order, Amble, Furnace, and Watchall 

Woman. Could you not command your leisure one 
hour longer ? 

Cham. Or half an hour ? 

A II. I have told you what my haste is : 

Besides, being now another's, not mine own, 
HoweVr I much desire to enjoy you longer, 
My duty suffers, if, to please myself, 
I should neglect my lord. 

Woman, Pray you do me the favour 

To put these few quince-cakes into your pocket; 
They are of mine own preserving. 



scene n] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 237 

Cham. And this marmalade; 

'Tis comfortable for your stomach. 

Woman. And, at parting, 

Excuse me if I beg a farewell from you. 10 

Cham. You are still before me. I move the same 
suit, sir. [All worth kisses them severally. 

Furn. How greedy these chamberers are of a beardless 
chin ! 
I think the tits w T ill ravish him. 

All. My service 

To both. 

Woman. Ours waits on you. 

Cham. And shall do ever. 

Ord. You are my lady's charge, be therefore careful 
That you sustain your parts. 

Woman. We can bear, I warrant you. 

[Exeunt Waiting Woman and Chambermaid. 

Furn. Here, drink it off ; the ingredients are cordial, 
And this the true elixir. D It hath boiled 
Since midnight for you. 'Tis the quintessence 
Of five cocks of the game, n ten dozen of sparrows, 20 

Knuckles of veal, potato-roots and marrow, 
Coral and ambergris. 11 Were you two years older, 
And I had a wife, or gamesome mistress, 
I durst trust you with neither. You need not bait 
After this, I warrant you, though your journey's long ; 
You may ride on the strength of this till to-morrow 
morning. 

All. Your courtesies overwhelm me. I much grieve 
To part from such true friends, and yet find comfort. 
My attendance on my honourable lord, 
Whose resolution holds to visit my lady, 3° 

Will speedily bring me back. 

[Knocking within. Exit Watchall. 

Mar. [Within.] Dar'st thou venture further? 

Well. [Within.] Yes, yes, and knock again. 

Ord, 'Tis he ; disperse ! 



238 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act ii 

Amb. Perform it bravely. 

Furn. I know my cue, ne'er doubt me. 

[Exeunt all but Allworth. 

Re-enter Watchall, ceremoniously introducing Wellborn 
and Marrall 

Watch. Beast that I was, to make you stay ! Most 
welcome. 
You were long since expected. 

Well. Say so much 

To my friend, I pray you. 

Watch. For your sake, I will, sir. 

Mar. For his sake ! 

Well. Mum ; this is nothing. 

Mar. More than ever 

I would have believed, though I had found it in my 
primer. 11 

All. When I have given you reasons for my late 
harshness, 
You'll pardon and excuse me ; for, believe me, 40 

Though now I part abruptly, in my service 
I will deserve it. 

Mar. Service ! with a vengeance ! 

Well. I am satisfied. Farewell, Tom. 

AIL All joy stay with you ! [Exit. 

Re-enter Amble 

Amb. You are happily encountered ; I yet never 
Presented one so welcome as I know 
You will be to my lady. 

Mar. This is some vis ; on, 

Or, sure, these men are mad, to worship a dunghill ; 
It cannot be a truth. 

Well. Be still a pagan, 

An unbelieving infidel. Be so, miscreant, 
And meditate on " blankets, and on dog-whips !" 



scene n] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 239 

Re-enter Furnace 

Fum. I am glad you are come ; until I know your 
pleasure 
I knew not how to serve up my lady's dinner. 
Mar. His pleasure ! Is it possible ? 
Well. What's thy will? 

Fum. Marry, sir, I have some grouse, and turkey 
chicken, 
Some rails n and quails, and my lady willed me ask you, 
What kind of sauces best affect your palate, 
That I may use my utmost skill to please it. 

Mar. [Aside.] The devil's entered this cook. Sauce 
for his palate ! 
That, on my knowledge, for almost this twelvemonth, 
Durst wish but cheese-parings and brown bread on 
Sundays. 60 

Well. That way I like them best. 
Fum. It shall be done, sir. [Exit. 

Well. What think you of "the hedge we shall dine 
under?" 
Shall we feed gratis ? 

Mar. I know not what to think ; 

Pray you make me not mad. 

Re-enter Order 

Ord. This place becomes you not ; 

Pray you walk, sir, to the dining-room. 

Well. I am well here, 

Till her ladyship quits her chamber. 

Mar. Well here, say you ? 

'Tis a rare change ! But yesterday you thought 
Yourself well in a barn, wrapped up in pease-straw. 

Re-enter Waiting Woman and Chambermaid 

Woman. O sir, you are wished for. 

Cham. My lady dreamt, sir, of you. 



240 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [ act ii 

Woman. And the first command she gave, after she 
rose, 7 o 

Was — her devotions done — to give her notice 
When you approached here. 

Cham. Which is done, on my virtue. 

Mar. I shall be converted. I begin to grow 
Into a new belief, which saints nor angels 
Could have won me to have faith in. 

Woman. Sir, my lady ! 

Enter Lady Allworth 

L. All. I come to meet you, and languished till I saw 
you. 
This first kiss is for form ; I allow a second 
To such a friend. [Kisses Wellborn. 

Mar. To such a friend ! Heaven bless rne ! 

Well. I am wholly yours. Yet, madam, if you please 
To grace this gentleman with a salute — 80 

'Mar. Salute me at his bidding ! 

Well. I shall receive it 

As a most high favour. 

L. All. Sir, you may command me. 

[Advances to kiss Marrall, who retires. 

Well. Run backward from a lady ! and such a 
lady! 

Mar. To kiss her foot is, to poor me, a favour 
I am unworthy of. [Offers to kiss her foot. 

L. All. Nay, pray you rise ; 

And since you are so humble, I'll exalt you. 
You shall dine with me to-day, at mine own table. 

Mar. Your ladyship's table ! I am not good enough 
To sit at your steward's board. 

/.. All. You are too modest. 

I will not be denied. 



scene ii] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 24 1 
Re-enter Furnace 

Furn. Will you still be babbling 90 

Till your meat freeze on the table ? The old trick still ; 
My art ne'er thought on ! 

L. All. Your arm, Master Wellborn, — 

Nay, keep us company. [To Marrall. 

Mar. I was ne'er so graced. 

[Exeunt Wellborn, Lady Allworth, Amble, 
Marrall, Waiting Woman, and Chambermaid. 

Ord. So ! We have played our parts, and are come 
off well ; 
But if I know the mystery, why my lady 
Consented to it, or why Master Wellborn 
Desired it, may I perish ! 

Furn. Would I had 

The roasting of his heart that cheated him, 
And forces the poor gentleman to these shifts ! 
By fire ! — for cooks are Persians, 11 and swear by it — 100 
Of all the griping and extorting tyrants 
I ever heard or read of, I ne'er met 
A match to Sir Giles Overreach. 

Watch. What will you take 

To tell him so, fellow Furnace ? 

Fur. Just as much 

As my throat is worth, for that would be the price on't. 
To have a usurer that starves himself, 
And wears a cloak of one and twenty years 
On a suit of fourteen groats, n bought of the hangman, 
To grow rich, and then purchase, is too common. 
But this Sir Giles feeds high, keeps many servants, no 
Who must at his command do any outrage ; 
Rich in his habit, vast in his expenses ; 
Yet he to admiration still increases 
In wealth and lordships. 

Ord. He frights men out of their estates, 

And breaks through all law-nets, made to curb ill men, 



242 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act 11 

As they were cobwebs. No man dares reprove him. 
Such a spirit to dare and power to do were never 
Lodged so unluckily. 

Re-enter Amble laughing 

Amb. Ha ! ha ! I shall burst. 

Ord. Contain thyself, man. 

Furn. Or make us partakers 

Of your sudden mirth. 

Amb. Ha ! ha ! My lady has got 120 

Such a guest at her table — this term-driver, Marrall, 
This snip of an attorney — 

Furn. What of him, man ? 

Amb. The knave thinks still he's at the cook's shop in 
Ram Alley, 11 
Where the clerks divide, and the elder is to choose ; 
And feeds so slovenly ! 

Furn. Is this all ? 

Amb. My lady 

Drank to him for fashion sake, or to please Master Well- 
born; 
As I live, he rises, and takes up a dish 
In which there were some remnants of a boiled capon, 
And pledges her in white broth ! 

Furn. Nay, 'tis like 

The rest of his tribe. 

Amb. And when I brought him wine, 

He leaves his stool, and, after a leg or two, n 131 

Most humbly thanks my worship. 

Ord. Risen already ! 

Amb. I shall be chid. n 

Re-enter Lady Allworth, Wellborn, and Marrall 

Furn. My lady frowns 

L. All. You wait well ! [To Amble. 



1 



scene n] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 243 

Let me have no more of this ; I observed you jeering. 
Sirrah, I'll have you know, whom I think worthy 
To sit at my table, be he ne'er so mean, 
When I am present, is not your companion. 11 

Ord. Nay, shell preserve what's due to her. 

Furn. ' This refreshing 

Follows your flux of laughter. 

L. All. [To Wellborn.] You are master 

Of your own will. I knew so much of manners, 140 

As not to inquire your purposes. In a word, 
To me you are ever welcome, as to a house 
That is your own. 

Well. [Aside to Marrall.] Mark that. 

Mar. With reverence, sir, 

An it like n your worship. 

Well. Trouble yourself no further, 

Dear madam ; my heart's full of zeal and service, 
However in my language I am sparing. 
Come, Master Marrall. 

Mar. I attend your worship. 

[Exeunt Wellborn and Marrall. 

L. All. I see in your looks you are sorry, and you 
know me 
An easy mistress. Be merry; I have forgot all. 
Order and Furnace, come with me. I must give you 15c 
Further directions. 

Ord. What you please. 

Furn. We are ready. 

[Exeunt. 



244 A NEW WAY TO PAY 0LD DEBTS [act ii 

Scene III 

The Country near Lady Allworth's House 

Enter Wellborn, and Marrall bare-headed 

Well. I think I am in a good way. 

Mar. Good! sir; the best way, 

The certain best way. 

Well. There are casualties n 

That men are subject to. 

Mar. You are above them ; 

And as you are already worshipful, 
I hope ere long you will increase in worship, 
And be right worshipful. 

Well. Prithee do not flout me : 

What I shall be, I shall be. Is't for your ease, 
You keep your hat off ? 

Mar. Ease ! an it like your worship ! 

I hope Jack Marrall shall not live so long, 
To prove himself such an unmannerly beast 10 

Though it hail hazel-nuts, as to be covered 
When your worship's present. 

Well. [Aside.] Is not this a true rogue, 

That, out of mere hope of a future cozenage, 11 
Can turn thus suddenly ? 'Tis rank already. 

Mar. I know your worship's wise, and needs no 
counsel, 
Yet if, in my desire to do you service, 
I humbly offer my advice — but still 
Under correction — I hope I shall not 
Incur your high displeasure. 

Well. No ; speak freely. 

Mar. Then, in my judgement, sir, my simple judge- 
ment — 20 
Still with your worship's favour — I could wish you 
A better habit, for this cannot be 



scene in] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 245 

But much distasteful to the noble lady — 

I say no more — that loves you ; for, this morning, 

To me, and I am but a swine to her, 

Before the assurance of her wealth perfumed you, 

You savoured not of amber. n 

Well. I do now then ! 

Mar. This your batoon hath got a touch of it. 

[Kisses the end of his cudgel. 
Yet, if you please, for change, 11 I have twenty pounds 

here, 
Which, out of my true love, I'll presently 30 

Lay down at your worship's feet ; 'twill serve to buy you 
A riding-suit. 

Well. But where's the horse ? 

Mar. My gelding 

Is at your service. Nay, you shall ride me, 
Before your worship shall be put to the trouble 
To walk afoot. Alas ! when you are lord 
Of this lady's manor, as I know you will be, 
You may with the lease of glebe land, a called Knave' s- 

acre, 
A place I would manure, 11 requite your vassal. 

Well. I thank thy love, but must make no use of it. 
What's twenty pounds ? 

Mar. 'Tis all that I can make, sir. 40 

Well. Dost thou think, though I want clothes, I could 
not have them, 
For one word to my lady ? 

Mar. As I know not that ! 

Well. Come, I will tell thee a secret, and so leave 
thee. 
I will not give her the advantage, though she be 
A gallant-minded lady, after we are married — 
There being no woman but is sometimes froward — 
To hit me in the teeth, and say, she was forced 
To buy my wedding-clothes, and took me on 
With a plain riding-suit, and on ambling nag. 



246 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act ii 

No, I'll be furnished something like myself, 50 

And so farewell. For thy suit touching Knave's-acre, 
When it is mine, 'tis thine. [Exit. 

Mar. I thank your worship. 

How was I cozened in the calculation 
Of this man's fortune ! My master cozened too, 
Whose pupil I am in the art of undoing men ; 
For that is our profession ! Well, well, Master Well- 
born, 
You are of a sweet nature, and fit again to be cheated ; 
Which, if the Fates please, when you are possessed 
Of the land and lady, you, sans question, shall be. 
I'll presently think of the means. [Walks by, musing. 

Enter Overreach, speaking to a Servant within 

Over. Sirrah, 11 take my horse. 

I'll walk to get me an appetite. 'Tis but a mile, 61 

And exercise will keep me from being pursy. 
Ha ! Marrall ! Is he conjuring ? n Perhaps 
The knave has wrought the prodigal to do 
Some outrage on himself, and now he feels 
Compunction in his conscience for't. No matter, 
So it be done. — Marrall ! 

Mar. Sir. 

Over. How succeed we 

In our plot on Wellborn ? 

Mar. Never better, sir. 

Over. Has he hanged or drowned himself ? 

Mar. No, sir, he lives ; 

Lives once more to be made a prey to you, 70 

A greater prey than ever. 

Over. Art thou in thy wits? 

If thou art, reveal this miracle, and briefly. 

Mar, A lady, sir, is fallen in love with him. 

Over. With him. What lady? 






scene m] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 247 

Mar. The rich Lady Allworth. 

Over. Thou dolt ! How dar'st thou speak this ? 

Mar. I speak truth. 

And I do so but once a year, unless 
It be to you, sir. We dined with her ladyship, 
I thank his worship. 

Over. His worship ! 

Mar. As I live, sir, 

I dined with him, at the great lady's table, 
Simple as I stand here ; n and saw when she kissed him, 80 
And would, at his request, have kissed me too. 
But I was not so audacious as some youths are, 
That dare do anything, be it ne'er so absurd, 
And sad n after performance. 

Over. Why, thou rascal ! 

To tell me these impossibilities. 
Dine at her table ! a,nd kiss him ! or thee ! 
Impudent varlet, have not I myself, 
To whom great countesses' doors have oft flew open, 
Ten times attempted, since her husband's death, 
In vain to see her, though I came, a suitor ? 90 

And yet your good solicitor ship, and rogue Wellborn, 
Were brought into her presence, feasted with her ! 
But that I know thee a dog that cannot blush, 
This most incredible lie would call up one 
On thy buttermilk cheeks. 

Mar. Shall I not trust my eyes, sir, 

Or taste ? I feel her good cheer in my belly. 

Over. You shall feel me, if you give not over, sirrah. 
Recover your brains again, and be no more gulled 
With a beggar's plot, n assisted by the aids 
Of serving-men and chambermaids, for beyond these 100 
Thou never saw'st a woman, or I'll quit you 
From my employments. 

Mar. Will you credit this yet ? 

On my confidence of their marriage, I offered Well- 
born — 



248 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act ii 

[Aside.] I would give a crown n now I durst say his 

worship — 
My nag, and twenty pounds. 

Over. Did you so, idiot ! 

[Strikes him down. 
Was this the way to work him to despair, 
Or rather to cross me ? 

Mar. Will your worship kill me ? 

Over. No, no ; but drive the lying spirit out of you. 

Mar. He's gone. 

Over. I have done then. Now, forgetting 

Your late imaginary feast and lady, no 

Know, my Lord Lovell dines with me to-morrow. 
Be careful nought be wanting to receive him, 
And bid my daughter's women trim her up, 
Though they paint her, so she catch the lord, I'll thank 

them. 
There's a piece for my late blows. 

Mar. [Aside.] I must yet suffer ; 

But there may be a time — 

Over. Do you grumble ? 

Mar. No, sir. [Exeunt. 



ACT THE THIRD 

Scene I 

The Country near Overreach's House 

Enter Lord Lovell, Allworth, and Servants 

Lov. Walk the horses down the hill. Something in 
private 
I must impart to Allworth. [Exeunt Servants. 

All. O my lord, 

What sacrifice of reverence, duty, watching, 
Although I could put off the use of sleep, 
And ever wait on your commands to serve them, 
What dangers, though in ne'er so horrid shapes, 
Nay death itself, though I should run to meet it, 
Can I, and with a thankful willingness suffer ! 
But still the retribution will fall short 
Of your bounties showered upon me. 

Lov. Loving youth, 10 

Till what I purpose be put into act, 
Do not overprize it. Since you have trusted me 
With your soul's nearest, nay, her dearest secret, 
Rest confident 'tis in a cabinet locked 
Treachery shall never open. I have found you — 
For so much to your face I must profess, 
Howe'er you guard your modesty with a blush for't — 
More zealous in your love and service to me 
Than I have been in my rewards. 

All. Still great ones, 

Above my merit. 

249 



250 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act hi 

Lov. Such your gratitude calls them. 20 

Nor am I of that harsh and rugged temper 
As some great men are taxed with, n who imagine 
They part from the respect due to their honours 
If they use not all such as follow them, 
Without distinction of their births, like slaves. 
I am not so conditioned. I can make 
A fitting difference between my footboy 
And a gentleman by want compelled to serve me. 

All. 'Tis thankfully acknowledged ; you have been 
More like a father to me than a master. 30 

Pray you, pardon the comparison. 

Lov. I allow it ; 

xAnd, to give you assurance I am pleased in't, 
My carriage and demeanour to your mistress, 
Fair Margaret, shall truly witness for me 
I can command my passions. 

All. 'Tis a conquest 

Few lords can boast of when they are tempted — ! 

Lov. Why do you sigh ? Can you be doubtful of me ? 
By that fair name I in the wars have purchased, 
And all my actions, hitherto untainted, 
I will not be more true to mine own honour, 40 

Than to my Allworth ! 

All. As you are the brave Lord Lovell, 

Your bare word only given is an assurance 
Of more validity and weight to me 
Than all the oaths, bound up with imprecations, 
Which, when they would deceive, most courtiers prac- 
tise ; 
Yet being a man — for, sure, to style you more 
Would relish of gross flattery — I am forced, 
Against my confidence of your worth and virtues, 
To doubt, nay more, to fear. 

Lov, So young, and jealous ! 

All. Were you to encounter with a single foe, 50 

The victory were certain ; but to stand 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 25 1 

The charge of two such potent enemies, 
At once assaulting you, as wealth and beauty, 
And those too seconded with power, is odds 
Too great for Hercules. 

Lov. Speak your doubts and fears, 

Since you will nourish them, in plainer language, 
That I may understand them. 

All. What's your will, 

Though I lend arms against myself — provided 
They may advantage you — must be obeyed. 
My much-loved lord, were Margaret only fair, 60 

The cannon of her more than earthly form, 
Though mounted high, commanding all beneath it, 
And rammed with bullets of her sparkling eyes, 
Of all the bulwarks that defend your senses 
Could batter none, but that which guards your sight. 
But when the well-tuned accents of her tongue 
Make music to you, and with numerous sounds 
Assault your hearing — such as Ulysses, if he 
Now lived again, howe'er he stood the Sirens, 11 
Could not resist — the combat must grow doubtful 70 
Between your reason and rebellious passions. 
Add this too ; when you feel her touch, and breath 
Like a soft western wind when it glides o'er 
Arabia, creating gums and spices ; 
And, in the van, the nectar of her lips, 
Which you must taste, bring the battalia on 
Well armed, and strongly lined with her dis( ourse, 
And knowing manners, to give entertainment; — 
Hippolytus himself would leave Diana, n 
To follow such a Venus. 

Lov. Love hath ma/e you 80 

Poetical, Allworth. 

All. Grant all these beat off, 

Which if it be in man to do, you'll do it, 
Mammon, in Sir Giles Overreach, steps in 
With heaps of ill-got gold, and so much land, 



252 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act hi 

To make her more remarkable, as would tire 

A falcon's wings in one day to fly over. 

O my good lord ! These powerful aids, which would 

Make a mis-shapen negro beautiful — 

Yet are but ornaments to give her lustre, 

That in herself is all perfection — must 90 

Prevail for her. I here release your trust. 

'Tis happiness enough for me to serve you 

And sometimes, with chaste eyes, to look upon her. 

Lov. Why, shall I swear ? 

AIL O, by no means, my lord ; 

And wrong not so your judgement to the world 
As from your fond indulgence to a boy, 
Your page, your servant, to refuse a blessing 
Divers great men are rivals for. 

Lov. Suspend 

Your judgement till the trial. How far is it 
To Overreach's house ? 

AIL At the most, some half hour's riding ; 

You'll soon be there. 

Lov. And you the sooner freed 101 

From your jealous fears. 

AIL O that I durst but hope it ! 

[Exeunt. 

Scene II 

A Room in Overreach's House 

Enter Overreach, Greedy, and Marrall 

Over. Spare for no cost; let my dressers crack with 
the weight 
Of curious viands. 

Greedy. " Store indeed's no sore," sir. 

Over. That proverb fits your stomach, Master Greedy. 
And let no plate be seen but what's pure gold, 



scene n] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 253 

Or such whose workmanship exceeds the matter 
That it is made of. Let my choicest linen 
Perfume the room, and, when we wash, the water, 
With precious powders mixed, so please my lord, 
That he may with envy wish to bathe so ever. 

Mar. 'Twill be very chargeable. 

Over. ■ Avaunt, you drudge ! 10 

Now all my laboured ends are at the stake, 
Is't a time to think of thrift ? Call in my daughter. 

[Exit Marrall. 
And, Master Justice, since you love choice dishes, 
And plenty of them — 

Greedy. As I do, indeed, sir, 

Almost as much as to give thanks for them. 

Over. I do confer that providence, with my power 
Of absolute command to have abundance, 
To your best care. 

Greedy. I'll punctually discharge it, 

And give the best directions. Now am I, 
In mine own conceit, a monarch ; at the least, 20 

Arch-president of the boiled, the roast, the baked ; 
For which I will eat often, and give thanks 
When my belly's braced up like a drum, and that's pure 
justice. [Exit. 

Over. It must be so. Should the foolish girl prove 
modest, 
She may spoil all. She had it not from me, 
But from her mother. I was ever forward, 
As she must be, and therefore I'll prepare her. 

Enter Margaret 

Alone, — and let your women wait without. 

Marg. Your pleasure, sir ? 

Over. Ha ! this is a neat dressing ! 

These orient pearls and diamonds well placed too ! $0 
The gown affects me not, n it should have been 



254 A NEW WAY T0 PAY 0LD DEBTS [act hi 

Embroidered o'er and o'er with flowers of gold ; 

But these rich jewels and quaint fashion help it. 

And how below ? since oft the wanton eye, 

The face observed, descends unto the foot, 

Which being well proportioned, as yours is, 

Invites as much as perfect white and red, 

Though without art. How like you your new woman, 

The Lady Downfallen ? n 

Marg. Well, for a companion ; 

Not as a servant. 

Over. Is she humble, Meg, 40 

And careful too, her ladyship forgotten ? 

Marg. I pity her fortune. 

Over. Pity her ! Trample on her. 

I took her up in an old tamin gown — 
Even starved for want of twopenny chops — to serve 

thee, 
And if I understand she but repines 
To do thee any duty, though ne'er so servile, 
I'll pack her to her knight, where I have lodged him, 
Into the counter, 11 and there let them howl together. 

Marg. You know your own ways; but for me, I 
blush 
When I command her, that was once attended 50 

With persons not inferior to myself 
In birth. 

Over. In birth ! Why, art thou not my daughter, 
The blest child of my industry and wealth ? 
Why, foolish girl, was't not to make thee great 
That I have run, and still pursue, those ways 
That hail down curses on me, which I mind not? 
Part with these humble thoughts, and apt thyself 
To the noble sidle I labour to advance thee ; 
Or, by my hopes to see thee honourable, 
f ".ill adopl a stranger to" my heir, 60 

And throw thee from my care. Do not provoke me. 

Marg. I will not, sir ; mould me which way you please. 






scene n] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 255 
Re-enter Greedy 

Over. How ! interrupted ! 

Greedy. 'Tis matter of importance. 

The cook, sir, is self-willed, and will not learn 
From my experience. There's a fawn brought in, sir, 
And, for my life, I cannot make him roast it 
With a Norfolk dumpling n in the belly of it ; 
And, sir, we wise men know, without the dumpling 
'Tis not worth three-pence. 

Over. Would it were whole in thy belly, 

To stuff it out ! Cook it any way. Prithee, leave me. 70 

Greedy. Without order for the dumpling ? 

Over. Let it be dumpled 

Which way thou wilt ; or tell him, I will scald him 
In his own cauldron. 

Greedy. I had lost my stomach 

Had I lost my mistress dumpling. 11 I'll give thanks for'L 

[Exit. 

Over. But to our business, Meg. You have heard 
who dines here ? 

Marg. I have, sir. 

Over. 'Tis an honourable man ; 

A lord, Meg, and commands a regiment 
Of soldiers, and, what's rare, is one himself, 
A bold and understanding one. And to be 
A lord, and a good leader, in one volume, 80 

Is granted unto few but such as rise up 
The kingdom's glory. 11 

Re-enter Greedy 

Greedy. I'll resign my office, 

If I be not better obeyed. 

Over. 'Slight, art thou frantic ? 

Greedy. Frantic ! 'twould make me frantic, and stark 
mad, 



256 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act hi 

Were I not a justice of peace and quorum too, 
Which this rebellious cook cares not a straw for. 
There are a dozen of woodcocks n — 

Over. Make thyself 

Thirteen, the baker's dozen. 

Greedy. I am contented, 

So they may be dressed to my mind. He has found out 
A new device for sauce, and will not dish them 90 

With toasts and butter. My father was a tailor, 
And my name, though a justice, Greedy Woodcock ; 
And, ere I'll see my lineage so abused, 
I'll give up my commission. 

Over. [Loudly.] Cook ! — Rogue, obey him ! 

I have given the word, pray you now remove yourself 
To a collar of brawn, n and trouble me no further. 

Greedy. I will, and meditate what to eat at dinner. 

[Exit. 

Over. And as I said, Meg, when this gull disturbed us, 
This honourable lord, this colonel, 
I would have thy husband. 

Marg. There's too much disparity 

Between his quality and mine, to hope it. 101 

Over. I more than hope, and doubt not to effect it. 
Be thou no enemy to thyself. My wealth 
Shall weigh his titles down, and make you equals. 
Now for the means to assure him thine, n observe me ; 
Remember he's a courtier, and a soldier, 
And not to be trifled with ; and, therefore, when 
He comes to woo you, see you do not coy it. 
This mincing modesty has spoiled many a match 
By a first refusal, in vain after hoped for. no 

Marg. You'll have me, sir, preserve the distance that 
Confines a virgin ? 

Over. Virgin me no virgins ! 

I must have you lose that name, or you lose me. 
I will have you private — start not — I say, private. 
If thou art my true daughter, not a bastard, 



scene ii] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 257 

Thou wilt venture alone with one man, though he carrie 
Like Jupiter to Semele, and come off, n too ; 
And therefore, when he kisses you, kiss close. 

Marg. I have heard this is the strumpet's fashion, sir, 
Which I must never learn. 

Over. Learn any thing, 120 

And from any creature that may make thee great ; 
From the devil himself . 

Marg. [Aside.] This is but devilish doctrine ! 

Over. Or, if his blood grow hot, suppose he offer 
Beyond this, do not you stay till it cool, 
But meet his ardour. If a couch be near, 
Sit down on't, and invite him. 

Marg. In your house, 

Your own house, sir; for Heaven's sake, what are you 

then? 
Or what shall I be, sir ? 

Over. Stand not on form ; 

Words are no substances. 

Marg. Though you could dispense 

With your own honour, cast aside religion, 130 

The hopes of Heaven, or fear of hell, excuse me, 
In worldly policy, this is not the way 
To make me his wife ; his whore, I grant it may do. 
My maiden honour so soon yielded up, 
Nay, prostituted, cannot but assure him 
I, that am light to him, will not hold weight 
Whene'er tempted by others ; so, in judgement, 
Wlien to his lust I have given up my honour, 
He must and will forsake me. 

Over. How ! Forsake thee ! 

Do I wear a sword for fashion ? or is this arm 140 

Shrunk up or withered ? Does there live a man 
Of that large list I have encountered with 
Can truly say I e'er gave inch of ground 
Not purchased with his blood that did oppose me ? 
Forsake thee when the thing is done ! He dares not. 



258 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act hi 

Give me but proof he has enjoyed thy person, 

Though all his captains, echoes to his will, 

Stood armed by his side to justify the wrong, 

And he himself in the head of his bold troop, 

Spite of his lordship, and his colonelship, 150 

Or the judge's favour, I will make him render 

A bloody and a strict account, and force him, 

By marrying thee, to cure thy wounded honour ! 

I have said it. 

Re-enter Marrall 

Mar . Sir, the man of honour's come, 

Newly alighted. 

Over. In, without reply ; 

And do as I command, or thou art lost. 

[Exit Margaret. 
Is the loud music I gave order for 
Ready to receive him ? 

Mar. 'Tis, sir. 

Over. Let them sound 

A princely welcome. [Exit Marrall.] Roughness 

awhile leave me ; 
For fawning now, a stranger to my nature, 160 

Must make way for me. 

Loud music. Enter Lord Lovell, Greedy, 
All worth, and Marrall 

Lov. Sir, you meet your trouble. 

Over. What you are pleased to style so is an honour 
Above my worth and fortunes. 

All. [Aside.] Strange, so humble. 

Over. A justice of peace, my lord. 

[Presents Greedy to him. 
Lov. Your hand, good sir. 

Greedy. [Aside.] This is a lord, and some think this a 
favour ; 






scene n] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 259 

But I had rather have my hand in my dumpling. 

Over. Room for my lord. 

Lov. I miss, sir, your fair daughter 

To crown my welcome. 

Over. May it please my lord 

To taste a glass of Greek wine first, and suddenly 
She shall attend my lord. 

Lov. You'll be obeyed, sir. 770 

[Exeunt all but Overreach. 

Over. 'Tis to my wish. As soon as come, ask for her ! 
Why, Meg ! Meg Overreach. — 

Re-enter Margaret 

How ! tears in your eyes ! 
Hah ! dry them quickly or I'll dig them out. 
Is this a time to whimper ? Meet that greatness 
That flies into thy bosom, think what 'tis 
For me to say, My honourable daughter ; 
And thou, when I stand bare, to say, Put on, n 
Or, Father, you forget yourself. No more ; 
But be instructed, or exoect — he comes. 



Re-enter Lord Lovell, Greedy, Allw t orth, and 
Marrall 



A black-browed girl, n my lord. 

[Lord Lovell kisses Margaret. 

Lov. As I live, a rare one. 180 

All. [Aside.] He's ta'en already. I am lost. 

Over. That kiss 

Came twanging off, I like it. Quit the room. 

[Exeunt all but Overreach, Lovell, and Margaret. 
A little bashful, my good lord, but you, 
I hope, will teach her boldness. 



260 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act hi 

Lov. I am happy 

In such a scholar ; but — 

Over. I am past learning, 

And therefore leave you to yourselves. — [Aside to Mar- 
garet, and exit.] Remember. 

Lov. You see, fair lady, your father is solicitous, 
To have you change the barren name of virgin 
Into a hopeful wife. 

Marg. His haste, my lord, 

Holds no power o'er my will. 

Lov. But o'er your duty. 190 

Marg. Which forced too much, may break. 

Lov. Bend rather, sweetest. 

Think of your years. 

Marg. Too few to match with yours ; 

And choicest fruits too soon plucked, rot and wither. 

Lov. Do you think I am old ? 

Marg. I am sure I am too young. 

Lov. I can advance you. 

Marg. To a hill of sorrow, 

Where every hour I may expect to fall, 
But never hope firm footing. You are noble, 
I of a low descent, however rich ; 
And tissues matched with scarlet suit but ill. n 
O, my good lord, I could say more, but that 200 

I dare not trust these walls. 

Lov. Pray you, trust my ear then. 

Re-enter Overreach behind, listening 

Over. Close at it ! Whispering ! This is excellent ! 
And, by their postures, a consent on both parts. 

Re-enter Greedy behind 

Greedy. Sir Giles, Sir Giles ! 

Over. The great fiend stop that clapper ! 



scene n] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 26 1 

Greedy. It must ring out, sir, when my belly rings 
noon. 
The baked-meats are run out, the roast turned powder. 

Over. I shall powder you. 

Greedy. Beat me to dust, I care not. 

In such a cause as this, I'll die a martyr. 

Over. Marry, and shall, you barathrum of the 
shambles ! n [Strikes him. 

Greedy. How ! strike a justice of peace ! 'Tis petty 
treason, 210 

Edwardi quinto. n But that you are my friend, 
I would commit you without bail or mainprize. 

Over. Leave your bawling, sir, or I shall commit you 
Where you shall not dine to-day. Disturb my lord, 
When he is in discourse ! 

Greedy. Is't a time to talk 

When we should be munching ? 

Lov. Hah ! I heard some noise. 

Over. Mum, villain ; vanish ! Shall w T e break a bar- 
gain 
Almost made up ? [Thrusts Greedy of. 

Lov. Lady, I understand you, 

And rest most happy in your choice, believe it. 
Ill be a careful pilot to direct 220 

Your yet uncertain bark to a port of safety. 

Marg. So shall your honour save two lives, and bind 
us 
Your slaves for ever. 

Lov. I am in the act rewarded, 

Since it is good. Howe'er, you must put on 
An amorous carriage n towards me to delude ' 
Your subtle father. 

Marg. I am prone to that. 

Lov. Now break we off our conference. — Sir Giles ! 
Where is Sir Giles ? [Overreach comes forward. 



262 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act ill 
Re-enter Allworth, Marrall, and Greedy 

Over. My noble lord ; and how 

Does your lordship find her ? 

Lov. Apt, Sir Giles, and coming ; 

And I like her the better. 

Over. So do I too. 230 

Lov. Yet should we take Torts at the first assault, 
'Twere poor in the defendant. I must confirm her 
With a love-letter or two, which I must have 
Delivered by my page, and you give way to't. 

Over. With all my soul — a towardly gentleman ! 
Your hand, good Master Allworth. Know my house 
Is ever open to you. 

All. [Aside.] 'Twas shut till now. 

Over. Well done, well done, my honourable daughter ! 
Thou'rt so already. Know this gentle youth, 
And cherish him, my honourable daughter. 240 

Marg. I shall, with my best care. 

[Noise within, as of a coach. 

Over. A coach ! 

Greedy. More stops 

Before we go to dinner ! O my guts ! 

Enter Lady Allworth and Wellborn 

L. AIL If I find welcome, 

You share in it ; if not, I'll back again, 
Now I know your ends ; for I come armed for all 
Can be objected. 

Lov. How ! the Lady Allworth ! 

Over. And thus attended ! 

[Lovell kisses Lady Allworth ; Lady Allworth 
kisses Margaret. 

Mar. No, " I am a dolt ! 

The spirit of lies hath entered me !" 



scene n] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 263' 

Over. Peace, Patch; 

'Tis more than wonder ! an astonishment 
That does possess me wholly ! 

Lov. Noble lady, 

This is a favour, to prevent my visit, 11 250 

The service of my life can never equal. 

L. All. My lord, I laid wait for you, and much hoped 
You would have made my poor house your first inn ; 
And therefore doubting that you might forget me, 
Or too long dwell here, having such ample cause, 
In this unequalled beauty, for your stay, 
And fearing to trust any but myself 
With the relation of my service to you, n 
I borrowed so much from my long restraint 
And took the air in person to invite you. 260 

Lov. Your bounties are so great, they rob me, madam. 
Of words to give you thanks. 

L. All. Good Sir Giles Overreach. — 

[Kisses him. 
How dost thou, Marrall? Liked you my meat so ill, 
You'll dine no more with me? 

Greedy. I will, when you please, 

An it like your ladyship. 

L. All. When you please, Master Greedy. 

If meat can do it, you shall be satisfied. 
And now, my lord, pray take into your knowledge 
This gentleman ; howe'er his outsiders coarse, 

[Presents Wellborn. 
His inward linings are as fine and fair 
As any man's. W 7 onder not I speak at large ; n 270 

And howsoe'er his humour carries him 
To be thus accoutred, or what taint soever, 
For his w T ild life, hath stuck upon his fame, 
He may, ere long, with boldness, rank himself 
With some that have contemned him. Sir Giles Over- 
reach, 
If I am welcome, bid him so. 



264 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act hi 

Over, My nephew ! 

He has been too long a stranger. Faith you have, 
Pray let it be mended. 

[Lovell confers aside with Wellborn. 

Mar. Why, sir, what do you mean ? 

This is " rogue Wellborn, monster, prodigy, 279 

That should hang or drown himself ; " no man of worship, 
Much less your nephew. 

Over. Well, sirrah, we shall reckon 

For this hereafter. 

Mar. I'll not lose my jeer, 

Though I be beaten dead for't. 

Well. Let my silence plead 

In my excuse, my lord, till better leisure 
Offer itself to hear a full relation 
Of my poor fortunes. 

Lov. I would hear, and help them. 

Over. Your dinner waits you. 

Lov. Pray you lead, we follow. 

L. All. Nay, you are my guest. Come, dear Master 
Wellborn. [Exeunt all but Greedy. 

Greedy. "Dear Master Wellborn !" So she said. 
Heaven ! Heaven ! 
If my belly would give me leave, I could ruminate 290 
All day on this. I have granted twenty warrants 
To have him committed, from all prisons in the shire, 
To Nottingham jail; and now, "Dear Master Well- 
born ! " 
And, "My good nephew !" But I play the fool 
To stand here prating, and forget my dinner. — 

Re-enter Marrall 

Are they set, Marrall ? 

Mar. Long since. Pray you a word, sir. 

Greedy. No wording now. 

Mar. In troth, I must. My master, 



scene in] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 265 

Knowing you are his good friend, makes bold with you, 
And does entreat you, more guests being come in 
Than he expected, especially his nephew, 300 

The table being full too, you would excuse him, 
And sup with him on the cold meat. 

Greedy. How ! No dinner, 

After all my care ? 

Mar. 'Tis but a penance for 

A meal ; besides, you broke your fast. 

Greedy. That was 

But a bit to stay my stomach. A man in commission 
Give place to a tatterdemalion ! 

Mar . No bug words, D sir. 

Should his worship hear you — 

Greedy. Lose my dumpling too, 

And buttered toasts, and woodcocks ! 

Mar. Come, have patience. 

If you will dispense a little with your worship, 11 309 

And sit with the w r aiting women, you'll have dumpling, 
Woodcock, and buttered toasts too. 

Greedy. This revives me. 

I will gorge there sufficiently. 

Mar. This is the way, sir. [Exeunt. 

Scene III 

Another Room in Overreach's House 

Enter Overreach, as from dinner 

Over. She's caught ! women ! She neglects my lord, 
And all her compliments applied to Wellborn ! 
The garments of her widowhood laid by, 
She now appears as glorious as the spring, 
Her eyes fixed on him, in the wine she drinks, 
He being her pledge, she sends him burning kisses, 
And sits on thorns, till she be private with him. 



266 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act hi 

She leaves my meat n to feed upon his looks, 

And if in our discourse he be but named, 

From her a deep sigh follows. But why grieve I 10 

At this ? It makes for me. If she prove his, 

All that is hers is mine, as I will work him. 

Enter Marrall 

Mar. Sir, the whole board is troubled at your rising. 

Over. No matter, I'll excuse it. Prithee, Marrall, 
Watch an occasion to invite my nephew 
To speak with me in private. 

Mar. Who? " The rogue 

The lady scorned to look on?" 

Over. You are a wag. 

Enter Lady Allworth and Wellborn 

Mar. See, sir, she's come, and cannot be without him. 

L. All. With your favour, sir, after a plenteous dinner, 
I shall make bold to walk a turn or two, 20 

In your rare garden. 

Over. There's an arbour too, 

If your ladyship please to use it. 

L. All. Come, Master Wellborn. 

[Exeunt Lady Allworth and Wellborn. 

Over. Grosser and grosser ! Now I believe the poet 
Feigned not, but was historical, when he wrote 
Pasiphae 11 was enamoured of a bull. 
This lady's lust's more monstrous. — My good lord, 

Enter Lord Lovell, Margaret, and the rest 

Excuse my manners. 

Lov. There needs none, Sir Giles, 

I may ere long say father, when it pleases 
My dearest mistress to give warrant to it. 

Over. She shall seal to it, my lord, and make me happy. 



scene in] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 267 
Re-enter Wellborn and Lady All worth 

Marg. My lady is returned. 

L. AIL Provide my coach, 31 

I'll instantly away. My thanks, Sir Giles, 
For my entertainment. 

Over. 'Tis your nobleness 

To think it such. 

L. All. I must do you a further wrong 

In taking away your honourable guest. 

Lov. I wait on you, madam. Farewell, good Sir 
Giles. 

L. All. Good Mistress Margaret ! Nay, come, Master 
Wellborn, 
I must not leave you behind ; in sooth, I must not. 

Over. Rob me not, madam, of all joys at once. 
Let my nephew stay behind. He shall have my coach, 40 
And, after some small conference between us, 
Soon overtake your ladyship. 

L. All. Stay not long, sir. 

Lov. This parting kiss. ~ [Kisses Margaret.] You 
shall every day hear from me, 
By my faithful page. 

All. 'Tis a service I am proud of. 

[Exeunt Lord Lovell, Lady Allworth, Allworth, 
and Marrall. 

Over. Daughter, to your chamber. — [Exit Margaret.]' 
You may wonder, nephew, 
After so long an enmity between us, 
I should desire your friendship. 

Well. So I do, sir. 

'Tis strange to me. 

Over. But I'll make it no wonder ; 

And what is more, unfold my nature to you. 
We worldly men, when we see friends and kinsmen 50 
Past hope sunk in their fortunes, lend no hand 
To lift them up, but rather set our feet 



268 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act hi 

Upon their heads, to press them to the bottom. 
As, I must yield, with you I practised it. 
But, now I see in you a way to rise, 
I can and will assist you. This rich lady — 
And I am glad oft — is enamoured of you. 
'Tis too apparent, nephew. 

Well. No such thing. 

Compassion rather, sir. 

Over. Well, in a word, 

Because your stay is short, I'll have you seen 60 

No more in this base shape ; nor shall she say, 
She married you like a beggar, or in debt. 

Well. [Aside.] He'll run into the noose, and save my 
labour. 

Over. You have a trunk of rich clothes, not far hence, 
In pawn. I will redeem them ; and that no clamour 
May taint your credit for your petty debts, 
You shall have a thousand pounds to cut them off, 
And go a free man to the wealthy lady. 

Well. This done, sir, out of love, and no ends else — 

Over. As it is, nephew — 

Well. Binds me still your servant. 

Over. No compliments, you are staid for. Ere you 

have supped 71 

You shall hear from me. My coach, knaves, for my 

nephew. 
To-morrow I will visit you. 

Well. Here's an uncle 

In a man's extremes ! How much they do belie you, 
That say you are hard-hearted ! 

Over. My deeds, nephew, 

Shall speak my love. What men report I weigh not. 

[Exeunt. 



ACT THE FOURTH 

Scene I 

A Room in Lady Allworth's House 

Enter Lord Lovell and Allworth 

Lov. 'Tis well; give me my cloak. I now discharge 
you 
From further service. Mind your own affairs, 
I hope they will prove successful. 

All. What is blest 

With your good wish, my lord, cannot but prosper. 
Let af tertimes report, and to your honour, 
How much I stand engaged, for I want language 
To speak my debt. Yet if a tear or two 
Of joy, for your much goodness, can supply 
My tongue's defects, I could — 

Lov. Nay, do not melt. 

This ceremonial thanks to me's superfluous. 10 

Over. [Within.] Is my lord stirring ? 

Lov. 'Tis he ! O, here's your letter. Let him in. 

Enter Overreach, Greedy, and Marrall 

Over. A good day to my lord ! 

Lov. You are an early riser, 

Sir Giles. 

Over. And reason, to attend your lordship. 
Lov. And you, too, Master Greedy, up so soon ! 
Greedy. In troth, my lord, after the sun is up, 
269 



270 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act iv 

I cannot sleep, for I have a foolish stomach 
That croaks for breakfast. With your lordship's favour, 
I have a serious question to demand 19 

Of my worthy friend Sir Giles. 

Lov. Pray you use your pleasure. 

Greedy. How far, Sir Giles, and pray you answer me 
Upon your credit, hold you it to be 
From your manor-house, to this of my Lady's Allworth's ? 

Over. Why, some four mile. 

Greedy. How ! four mile, good Sir Giles — 

Upon your reputation, think better. 
For if you do abate but one half-quarter 
Of five, n you do yourself the greatest wrong 
That can be in the world ; for four miles riding 
Could not have raised so huge an appetite 
As I feel gnawing on me. 

Mar. Whether you ride, 30 

Or go afoot, you are that way still provided, 
An it please your worship. 

Over. How now, sirrah ? Prating 

Before my lord ! No difference ! Go to my nephew, 
See all his debts discharged, and help his worship 
To fit on his rich suit. 

Mar. [Aside.] I may fit you too. 

Tossed like a dog still ! [Exit. 

Lov. I have writ this morning 

A few lines to my mistress, your fair daughter. 

Over. 'Twill fire her, for she's wholly yours already. 
Sweet Master Allworth, take my ring. 'Twill carry you 
To her presence, I dare warrant you ; and there plead 40 
For my good lord, if you shall find occasion. 
That done, pray ride to Nottingham, get a licence, 
Still by this token. I'll have it dispatched, 
And suddenly, my lord, that I may say, 
My honourable, nay, right honourable daughter. 

Greedy. Take my advice, young gentleman, get your 
breakfast. 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO* PAY OLD DEBTS 271 

'Tis unwholesome to ride fasting. I'll eat with you, 
And eat to purpose. 

Over. Some Fury's in that gut. 

Hungry again ! Did you not devour, this morning, 40 
A shield of brawn, n and a barrel of Colchester n oysters ? 

Greedy. Why, that was, sir, only to scour my stomach, 
A kind of a preparative. Come, gentleman, 
I will not have you feed like the hangman of Flushing, 11 
Alone, while I am here. 

Lov. Haste your return. 

All. I will not fail, my lord. 

Greedy. Nor I, to line 

My Christmas coffer. 11 [Exeunt Greedy and Allworth. 

Over. To my wish. n We are private. 

I come not to make offer with my daughter 
A certain portion, that were poor and trivial. 
In one word, I pronounce all that is mine, 
In lands or leases, ready coin or goods, 60 

With her, my lord, comes to you ; nor shall you have 
One motive to induce -you to believe 
I live too long, since every year I'll add 
Something unto the heap, which shall be yours too. 

Lov . You are a right kind father. 

Over. You shall have reason 

To think me such. How do you like this seat ? 
It is well wooded, and well watered, the acres 
Fertile and rich. Would it not serve for change 
To entertain your friends in a summer progress ? 
What thinks my noble lord ? 

Lov. 'Tis a wholesome air, 70 

And well-built pile ; and she that's mistress of it, 
Worthy the large revenue. 11 

Over. She the mistress ! 

It may be so for a time. But let my lord 
Say only that he likes it, and would have it, 
I say, ere long 'tis his. 

Lov. Impossible. 



272 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act iv 

Over. You do conclude too fast, not knowing me, 
Nor the engines that I work by. 'Tis not alone 
The Lady Allworth's lands, for those once Wellborn's — 
As by her dotage on him I know they will be — 
Shall soon be mine ; but point out any man's 80 

In all the shire, and say they lie convenient, 
And useful for your lordship, and once more 
I say aloud, they are yours. 

Lov. I dare not own 

What's by unjust and cruel means extorted. 
My fame and credit are more dear to me, 
Than so to expose them to be censured by 
The public voice. 

Over. You run, my lord, no hazard. 

Your reputation shall stand as fair, 
In all good men's opinions, as now ; 
Nor can my actions, though condemned for ill, go 

Cast any foul aspersion upon yours. 
For, though I do contemn report myself 
As a mere sound, I still will be so tender 
Of what concerns you, in all points of honour, 
That n the immaculate whiteness of your fame, 
Nor your unquestioned integrity, 
Shall e'er be sullied with one taint or spot 
That may take from your innocence and candour. 
All my ambition is to have my daughter 
Right honourable, which my lord can make her. 100 

And might I live to dance upon my knee 
A young Lord Lovell, born by her unto you, 
I write nil ultra n to my proudest hopes. 
As for possessions and annual rents, 
Equivalent to maintain you in the port n 
Your noble birth and present state requires, 
I do remove that burthen from your shoulders, 
And take it on mine own. For, though I ruin 
The country to supply your riotous waste, 
The scourge of prodigals, want, shall never find you. no 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 273 

Lov. Are you not frighted with the imprecations 
And curses of whole families, made wretched 
By your sinister practices ? 

Over. Yes, as rocks are, 

When foamy billows split themselves against 
Their flinty ribs ; or as the moon is moved 
When wolves, with hunger pined, howl at her brightness. 
I am of a solid temper, and, like these, 
Steer on, a constant course. With mine own sword, 
If called into the field, I can make that right, 
Which fearful enemies murmured at as wrong. 120 

Now, for these other piddling complaints 
Breathed out in bitterness ; as when they call me 
Extortioner, tyrant, cormorant, or intruder 
On my poor neighbour's right, or grand incloser 
Of what was common, 11 to my private use ; 
Nay, when my ears are pierced with widows' cries, 
And undone orphans wash with tears my threshold, 
I only think what 'tis to have my daughter 
Right honourable ; and 'tis a powerful charm 
Makes me insensible of remorse, or pity, 130 

Or the least sting of conscience. 

Lov. I admire 

The toughness of your nature. 

Over. 'Tis for you, 

My lord, and for my daughter, I am marble. 
Nay more, if you will have my character 
In little, I enjoy more true delight 
In my arrival to my wealth these dark 
And crooked ways than you shall e'er take pleasure 
In spending what my industry hath compassed. 
My haste commands me hence. In one word, therefore, 
Is it a match ? 

Lov. I hope, that is past doubt now. 140 

Over. Then rest secure. Not the hate of all mankind 
here, 
Nor fear of what can fall on me hereafter, 



274 A NEW WAY T0 PAY 0LD DEBTS [act iv 

Shall make me study aught but your advancement 

One story higher, — an earl, if gold can do it. 

Dispute not my religion, nor my faith. 

Though I am borne thus headlong by my will, 

You may make choice of what belief you please, 

To me they are equal ; so,. my lord, good morrow. [Exit. 

Lov. He's gone. I wonder how the earth can bear 
Such a portent ! I, that have lived a soldier, 150 

And stood the enemy's violent charge undaunted, 
To hear this blasphemous beast am bathed all over 
In a cold sweat. Yet, like a mountain, he — 
Confirmed in atheistical asser ions — 
Is no more shaken than Olympus n is 
When angry Boreas loads his double head 
With sudden drifts of snow. 

Enter Lady Allworth, Waiting Woman, and Amble 

L. All. Save you, my lord ! 

Disturb I not your privacy ? 

Lov. No, good madam. 

For your own sake I am glad you came no sooner, 
Since this bold bad man, Sir Giles Overreach, 160 

Made such a plain discovery of himself, 
And read this morning such a devilish matins," 
That I should think it a sin next to his 
But to repeat it. 

L. All. I ne'er pressed, my lord, 

On others' privacies ; yet, against my will, 
Walking, for health' sake, in the gallery 
Adjoining to your lodgings, I was made — 
So vehement and loud he was — partaker 
Of his tempting offers. 

Lov. Please you to command 

Your servants hence, and 1 shall gladly hear 170 

Your wiser counsel. 

L. AIL 'Tis, my lord, a woman's, 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 275 

But true and hearty. — Wait in the next room, 
But be within call ; yet not so near n to force me 
To whisper my intents. 

Amb. We are taught better 

By you, good madam. 

Woman. And well know our distance. 

L. AIL Do so, and talk not. 'Twill become your 
breeding. [Exeunt Amble and Woman. 

Now, my good lord. If I may use my freedom, 
As to an honoured friend - — 

Lov. You lessen else 

Your favour to me. 

L. AIL I dare then say thus : 

As you are noble — howe'er common men 180 

Make sordid wealth the object and sole end 
Of their industrious aims — 'twill not agree 
With those of eminent blood, who are engaged 
More to prefer their honours than to increase 
The state left to them by their ancestors, 
To study large additions to their fortunes, 
And quite neglect their births ; though I must grant, 
Riches, well got, to be a useful servant, 
But a bad master. 

Lov, Madam, 'tis confessed ; 

But what infer you from it ? 

L. AIL This, my lord, 190 

That as all wrongs, though thrust into one scale, 
Slide of themselves off when right fills the other, 
And cannot bide the trial ; so all wealth, 
I mean if ill-acquired, cemented to honour 
By virtuous ways achieved, and bravely purchased, 
Is but rubbish poured into a river — 
Howe'er intended to make good the bank — 
Rendering the water, that was pure before, 
Polluted and unwholesome. I allow 
The heir of Sir Giles Overreach, Margaret, 200 

A maid well qualified and the richest match 



276 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act iv 

Our north part can make boast of. Yet she cannot, 
With all that she brings with her, fill their mouths, 11 
That never will forget who was her father ; 
Or that my husband Allworth's lands, and Wellborn's — 
How wrung from both needs now no repetition — 
Were real motives that more worked your lordship 
To join your families, than her form and virtues. 
You may conceive the rest. 

Lov. I do, sweet madam, 

And long since have considered it. I know, 210 

The sum of all that makes a just man happy 
Consists in the well choosing of his wife ; 
And there, well to discharge n it, does require 
Equality of years, of birth, of fortune ; 
For beauty being poor, and not cried up 
By birth or wealth, can truly mix with neither ; 
And wealth, where there's such difference in years, 
And fair descent, must make the yoke uneasy. 
But I come nearer. 

L. All. Pray you do, my lord. 

Lov. Were Overreach's states thrice centupled, his 
daughter 220 

Millions of degrees much fairer than she is, 
Howe'er I might urge precedents to excuse me, 
I would not so adulterate my blood 
By marrying Margaret, and so leave my issue 
Made up of several pieces, one part scarlet, 
And the other London blue. n In my own tomb 
I will inter my name first. 

L. All. [Aside.] I am glad to hear this. — 

Why then, my lord, pretend your marriage to her? 
Dissimulation but ties false knots 

On that straight line by which you, hitherto, 230 

Have measured all your actions. 

Lov. I make answer, 

And aptly, with a question. Wherefore have you, 
That, since vour husband's death, have lived a strict 



scene 11] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 277 

And chaste nun's life, on the sudden given yourself 
To visits and entertainments ? Think you, madam, 
'Tis not grown public conference, or the favours 
Which you too prodigally have thrown on Wellborn, 
Being too reserved before, incur not censure ? 

L. All. I am innocent here ; and, on my life, I swear 
My ends are good. 

Lov. On my soul, so are mine 240 

To Margaret ; but leave both to the event. 
And since this friendly privacy does serve 
But as an offered means unto ourselves, 
To search each other further, you having shown 
Your care of me, I my respect to you, 
Deny me not, but still in chaste words, madam, 
An afternoon's discourse. 

L. All. So n I shall hear you. [Exeunt. 



Scene II 

Before Tapwell's House 

Enter Tapwell and Froth 

Tap. Undone, undone ! This was your counsel, Froth. 

Froth. Mine ! I defy thee. Did not Master Marrall — 
He has marred all, I am sure — strictly command us, 
On pain of Sir Giles Overreach's displeasure, 
To turn the gentleman out of doors ? 

Tap. 'Tis true. 

But now he's his uncle's darling, and has got 
Master Justice Greedy, since he filled his belly, 
At his commandment, to do anything. 
Woe, woe to us ! 

Froth. He may prove merciful. 

Tap. Troth, we do not deserve it at his hands. 10 

Though he knew all the passages of our house, n 



278 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act iv 

As the receiving of stolen goods, and bawdry, 11 

When he was rogue Wellborn no man would believe him, 

And then his information could not hurt us. 

But now he is right worshipful again, 

Who dares but doubt his testimony ? Methinks, 

I see thee, Froth, already in a cart, 

For a close bawd, thine eyes even pelted out 

With dirt and rotten eggs ; and my hand hissing, 

If I scape the halter, with the letter R n 20 

Printed upon it. 

Froth. Would that were the worst ! 

That were but nine days wonder. As for credit, 
We have none to lose, but we shall lose the money 
He owes us, and his custom ; there's the hell on't. 

Tap. He has summoned all his creditors by the drum n 
And they swarm about him like so many soldiers 
On the pay day ; and has found out such a new way 
To pay his old debts, as 'tis very likely 
He shall be chronicled for it ! 

Froth. * He deserves it 

More than ten pageants. 11 But are you sure his worship 
Comes this way, to my lady's ? 

[A cry within: Brave master Wellborn ! 

Tap. Yes ; I hear him. 31 

Froth. Be ready with your petition, and present it 
To his good grace. 

Enter Wellborn in a rich habit, followed by Marr- 
all, Greedy, Order, Furnace, and Creditors ; 
Tapwell kneeling, delivers his petition 



Well. How's this ! petitioned too ? 

But note what miracles the payment of 
A little trash," and a rich suit of clothes, 
Can work upon these rascals ! I shall be, 
I think, Prince Wellborn. 

Mar. When your worship's married, 






scene ii] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 279 

You may be — I know what I hope to see you. 

Well. Then look thou for advancement. 

Mar. To be known 

Your worship's bailiff, is the mark I shoot at. 40 

Well. And thou shalt hit it. 

Mar. Pray you sir, dispatch 

These needy followers, and for my admittance, 
Provided you'll defend me from Sir Giles, 
Whose service I am weary of, I'll say something 
You shall give thanks for. 

Well. Fear me not Sir Giles. 11 

Greedy. Who, Tapwell ? I remember thy wife brought 
me, 
Last new-year's tide, a couple of fat turkeys. 

Tap. And shall do every Christmas, let your worship 
But stand my friend now. 

Greedy. How ! With Master Wellborn ? 

I can do anything with him on such terms. 50 

See you this honest couple, they are good souls 
As ever drew out fosset. n Have they not 
A pair of honest faces ? 

Well. I o'erheard you, 

And the bribe he promised. You are cozened in them ; 
For, of all the scum that grew rich by my riots, 
This, for a most unthankful knave, and this, 
For a base bawd and whore, have worst deserved me, 
And therefore speak not for them. By your, place 
You are rather to do me justice ; lend me your ear. 
Forget his turkeys, and call in his licence 60 

And, at the next fair, I'll give you a yoke of oxen 
Worth all his poultry. 

Greedy. I am changed on the sudden 

In my opinion ! Come near ; nearer, rascal. 
And, now I view him better, did you e'er see 
One look so like an arch-knave ? His very countenance, 
Should an understanding judge but look upon him, 
Would hang him, though he were innocent. 



280 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act iv 

Tap., Froth. Worshipful sir. 

Greedy. No, though the great Turk came, n instead of 
turkeys, 
To beg my favour, I am inexorable. 
Thou hast an ill name. Besides thy musty ale, 70 

That hath destroyed many of the king's liege people, 
Thou never hadst in thy house, to stay men's stomachs, 
A piece of Suffolk cheese or gammon of bacon, n 
Or any esculent, as the learned call it, 
For their emolument, 11 but sheer drink only. 
For which gross fault I here do damn thy licence, 
Forbidding thee ever to tap or draw ; 
For, instantly, I will, in mine own person, 
Command the constable to pull down thy sign, 
And do it before I eat. 

Froth. No mercy ? 

Greedy. Vanish ! 80 

If I show any, may my promised oxen gore me ! 

Tap. Unthankful knaves are ever so rewarded. 

[Exeunt Greedy, Tapwell, and Froth. 

Well. Speak ; what are you ? 

1st Cred. A decayed vintner, sir, 

That might have thrived, but that your worship broke 

me 
With trusting you with muscadine and eggs, 
And five-pound suppers, with your after drinkings, 
When you lodged upon the Bankside. n 

Well. I remember. 

1st Cred. I have not been hasty, nor e'er laid to 
arrest you ; 
And therefore, sir — 

Well. Thou art an honest fellow, 

I'll set thee up again. See his bill paid. — 90 

What are you ? 

2nd Cred. A tailor once, but now mere botcher. 

I gave you credit for a suit of clothes, 
Which was all my stock, but you failing in payment, 



scene ii j A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 28 1 

I was removed from the shopboard, and confined 
Under a stall. 

Well. See him paid ; and botch no more. 11 

2nd Cred. I ask no interest, sir. 

Well. Such tailors need not. 

If their bills are paid in one and twenty year, 
They are seldom losers. — O, I know thy face, 

[To 3rd Creditor. 
Thou wert my surgeon. You must tell no tales ; 
Those days are done. I will pay you in private. 100 

Ord. A royal gentleman ! 

Fum. Royal as an emperor ! 

He'll prove a brave master. My good lady knew 
To choose a man. 

Well. See all men else discharged ; 

And since old debts are cleared by a new way, 
A little bounty will not misbecome me. 
There's something, honest cook, for thy good breakfasts ; 
And this, for your respect. [To Order.] Take't, 'tis 

good gold, 
And I able to spare it. 

Ord. Your are too munificent. 

Fum. He was ever so. 

Well. Pray you, on before. 

3rd Cred. Heaven bless you ! 

Mar. At four o'clock ; the rest know where to meet me. 
[Exeunt Order, Furnace, and Creditors. 

Well. Now, Master Marrall, what's the weighty secret 
You promised to impart ? 

Mar. Sir, time nor place 112 

Allow me to relate each circumstance, 
This only, in a word : I know Sir Giles 
Will come upon you for security 

For his thousand pounds, which you must not consent to. 
As he grows in heat, as I am sure he will, 
Be you but rough, and say he's in your debt 
Ten times the sum, upon sale of your land. 



282 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act iv 

I had a hand in't — I speak it to my shame — 120 

When you were defeated of it. 

Well. That's forgiven. 

Mar. I shall deserve it. Then urge him to produce 
The deed in which you passed it over to him, 
Which I know he'll have about him, to deliver 
To the Lord Lovell, with many other writings, 
And present monies. I'll instruct you further, 
As I wait on your worship. If I play not my prize n 
To your full content, and your uncle's much vexation, 
Hang up Jack Marrall. 

Well. I rely upon thee. [Exeunt. 

Scene III 
A Room in Overreach's House 
Enter Allworth and Margaret 

All. Whether to yield the first praise to my lord's 
Unequalled temperance or your constant sweetness. 
That I yet live, my weak hands fastened on 
Hope's anchor, spite of all storms of despair, 
I yet rest doubtful. 

Marg. Give it to Lord Lovell ; 

For what in him was bounty, in me's duty. 
I make but payment of a debt to which 
My vows, in that high office n registered, 
Are faithful witnesses. 11 

All. 'Tis true, my dearest. 

Yet, when I call to mind how many fair ones 10 

Make wilful shipwreck of their faiths, and oaths 
To God and man, to fill the arms of greatness, 
And you rise up no less than a glorious star, 
To the amazement of the world, hold out 
Against the stern authority of a father, 
And spurn at honour, when it comes to court you; 



scene in] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 283 

I am so tender of your good, that faintly, 
With your wrong, I can wish myself that right 
You yet are pleased to do me. 

Marg. Yet, and ever. 

To me what's title, when content is wanting ? 20 

Or wealth, raked up together with much care, 
And to be kept with more, when the heart pines 
In being dispossessed of what it longs for 
Beyond the Indian mines ? n or the smooth brow 
Of a pleased sire, that slaves me to his will, 
And, so his ravenous humour may be feasted 
By my obedience, and he see me great, 
Leaves to my soul nor faculties nor power 
To make her own election ? * 

All. But the dangers 

That follow the repulse — 

Marg. To me they are nothing. 3° 

Let All worth love, I cannot be unhappy. 
Suppose the worst, that, in his rage, he kill me, 
A tear or two, by you dropped on my hearse, 
In sorrow for my fate, will call back life 
So *f ar as but to say, that I die yours ; 
I then shall rest in peace. Or should he prove 
So cruel, as one death would not suffice 
His thirst of vengeance, but with lingering torments 
In mind and body I must waste to air, 
In poverty joined with banishment ; so you share 40 

In my afflictions, which I dare not wish you, 
So high I prize you, I could undergo them 
With such a patience as should look down 
With scorn on his worst malice. 

All. Heaven avert 

Such trials of your true affection to me ! 
Nor will it unto you, that are all mercy, 
Show so much rigour. But since we must run 
Such desperate hazards, let us do our best 
To steer between them. 



284 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act iv 

M arg. Your lord's ours, and sure ; 

And, though but a young actor, second me 50 

In doing to the life what he has plotted, 

Enter Overreach behind 

The end may yet prove happy. Now, my Allworth. 

[Seeing her father. 

All. To your letter, and put on a seeming anger. 

Marg. I'll pay my lord all debts due to his title ; 
And when with terms, not taking from his honour, 
He does solicit me, I shall gladly hear him. 
But in this peremptory, nay, commanding way, 
To appoint a meeting, and, without my knowledge, 
A priest to tie the knot can ne'er be undone 
Till death unloose it, is a confidence 60 

In his lordship will deceive him. n 

All. I hope better, 

Good lady. 

Marg. Hope, sir, what you please. For me 

I must take a safe and secure course. I have 
A father, and without his full consent, • 

Though all lords of the land kneeled for my favour, 
I can grant nothing. 

Over. I like this obedience. 

[Comes forward. 
But whatsoe'er my lord writes, must and shall be 
Accepted and embraced. Sweet Master Allworth, 
You show yourself a true and faithful servant 
To your good lord ; he has a jewel of you. 70 

How ! frowning, Meg ? are these looks to receive 
A messenger from my lord ? What's this ? Give me it. 

Marg. A piece of arrogant paper, like the inscriptions. 

Over, f Reads.} " Fair mistress, from your servant learn, 
all joys 
Thai we can hope for, if deferred, prove toys; 
Therefore this instant, and in private, meet 



scene in] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 285 

A husband, that will gladly at your feet 

Lay down his honours, tendering them to you 

With all content, the church being paid her due." 

Is this the arrogant piece of paper ? Fool ! 80 

Will you still be one ? In the name of madness, what 

Could his good honour write more to* content you ? 

Is there aught else to be wished, after these two, 

That are already offered, marriage first, 

And lawful pleasure after ; what would you more ? 

Marg, Why, sir, I would be married like your daughter, 
Not hurried away i' the night I know not whither, 
Without all n ceremony ; no friends invited 
To honour the solemnity. 

AIL An't please your honour, 

For so before to-morrow T I must style you, 90 

My lord desires this privacy, in respect 
His honourable kinsmen are afar off, 
And his desires to have it done brook not 
So long delay as -to expect their coming ; 
And yet he stands resolved, with all due pomp, 
As running at the ring, n plays, masks, and tilting, 
To have his marriage at court celebrated, 
When he has brought your honour up to London. 

Over. He tells you true; 'tis the fashion, on my 
knowledge. 
Yet the good lord, to please your peevishness, 11 100 

Must put it off, forsooth, and lose a night, 
In which perhaps he might get two boys on thee. 
Tempt me no further, if you do, this goad 

[Points to his sword. 
Shall prick you to him. 

Marg. I could be contented, 

Were you but by, to do a father's part, 
And give me in the church. 

Over. So my lord have you, 

What do I care who gives you ? Since my lord 
Does purpose to be private, I'll not cross him. 



286 A iNEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act iv 

I know not, Master Allworth, how my lord 

May be provided, and therefore there's a purse no 

Of gold, 'twill serve this night's expense. To-morrow 

I'll furnish him with any sums. In the mean time, 

Use my ring to my chaplain ; he is beneficed 

At my manor of Got'em, n and called Parson Willdo. 

'Tis no matter for a licence, I'll bear him out in't. 

Marg. With your favour, sir, what warrant is your 
ring? 
He may suppose I got that twenty ways, 
Without- your knowledge ; and then to be refused 
Were such a stain upon me ! If you pleased, sir, 
Your presence would do better. 

Over. Still perverse ! 120 

I say again, I will not cross my lord. 
Yet I'll prevent you n too. — Paper and ink, there ! 

All. I can furnish you. 

Over. I thank you, I can write then. 

\W rites. 

All. You may, if you please, put out the name of my 
lord, 
In respect he comes disguised, and only write, 
Marry her to this gentleman. 

Over. Well advised. 

'Tis done; away. [Margaret kneels.] My blessing, 

girl ? Thou hast it. 
Nay, no reply, be gone. — Good Master Allworth, 
This shall be the best night's work you ever made. 129 

All. I hope so, sir. 

[Exeunt Allworth and Margaret. 

Over. Farewell ! — Now all's cocksure. 

Methinks 1 hear already knights and ladies 
Say, Sir Giles Overreach, how is it with 
Your honourable daughter? Has her honour 
Slept well to-night? or, will her honour please 
To accept this monkey, (log, or paroquito n — 
This is state in ladies — or my eldest son 



scene in] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 287 

To be her page, and wait upon her trencher ? n 
My ends, my ends are compassed — then for Wellborn 
And the lands. Were he once married to the widow — 
I have him here — I can scarce contain myself, 140 

I am so full of joy, nay, joy all over. [Exit. 



ACT THE FIFTH 
Scene I 
A Room in Lady All worth's House 
Enter Lord Lovell, Lady Allworth, and Amble 

L. All. By this yoa know how strong the motives were 
That did, my lord, induce me to dispense 
A little, with my gravity, to advance, 
In personating some few favours to him, 
The plots and projects of the down-trod Wellborn. 
Nor shall I e'er repent, although I suffer 
In some few men's opinions for't, the action ; 
For he that ventured all for my dear husband 
Might justly claim an obligation from me 
To pay him such a courtesy ; which had I 10 

Coyly or over-curiously denied, 
It might have argued me of little love 
To the deceased. 

Lov. What you intended, madam, 

For the poor gentleman hath found good success ; 
For, as I understand, his debts are paid, 
And he once more furnished for fair employment. 
But all the arts that I have used to raise 
The fortunes of your joy and mine, young Allworth, 
Stand yet in supposition," though I hope well ; 
For the young lovers are in wit more pregnant 20 

Than their years can promise ; and for their desires, 
On my knowledge, they are equal. 

/.. All. As my wishes 

288 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 289 

Are with yours, my lord ; yet give me leave to fear 
The building, though well grounded. To deceive 
Sir Giles, that's both a Hon and a fox 
In his proceedings, were a work beyond 
The strongest undertakers ; not the trial 
Of two weak innocents. 

Lov. Despair not, madam. 

Hard things are compassed oft by easy means ; 
And judgement, being a gift derived from Heaven, 30 
Though sometimes lodged in the hearts of worldly men, 
That ne'er consider from whom they receive it, 
Forsakes such as abuse the giver of it. 
Which is the reason that the politic 
And cunning statesman, that believes he fathoms 
The counsels of all kingdoms on the earth, 
Is by simplicity oft over-reached. 

L. AIL May he be so ! Yet, in his name to express it, 
Is a good omen. 

Lov. May it to myself 

Prove so, good lady, in my suit to you ! 40 

What think you of the motion ? 

L. AIL Troth, my lord, 

My own un worthiness may answer for me ; 
For had you, when that I was in my prime, 
My virgin flower uncropped, presented me 
With this great favour ; looking on my lowness 
Not in a glass of self-love, but of truth, 
I could not but have thought it, as a blessing 
Far, far beyond my merit. 

Lov. You are too modest, 

And undervalue that which is above 
My title, or whatever I call mine. s° 

I grant, were I a Spaniard, to marry 
A widow might disparage me ; n but being 
A true-born Englishman, I cannot find 
How it can taint my honour. Nay, what's more, 
That which you think a blemish is to me 



290 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act v 

The fairest lustre. You already, madam, 

Have given sure proofs how dearly you can cherish 

A husband that deserves you ; which confirms me, 

That, if I am not wanting in my care 

To do you service, you'll be still the same 60 

That you were to your All worth. In a word, 

Our years, our states, our births are not unequal, 

You being descended nobly, and allied so. 

If then you may be won to make me happy, 

But join your lips to mine, and that shall be 

A solemn contract. 

L. All. I were blind to my own good, 

Should I refuse it. [Kisses him.] Yet, my lord, receive 

me 
As such a one, the study of whose whole life 
Shall know no other object but to please you. 

Lov. If I return not, with all tenderness, 70 

Equal respect to you, may I die wretched ! 

L. All. There needs no protestation, my lord, 
To her that cannot doubt. — 

Enter Wellborn, handsomely apparelled 

You are welcome, sir. 
Now you look like yourself. 

Well. And will continue 

Such in my free acknowledgment, that I am 
Your creature, madam, and will never hold 
My life mine own, when you please to command it. 

Lov. It is a thankfulness that well becomes you. 
You could not make choice of a better shape 
To dress your mind in. 

L. All. For me, I am happy 

That my endeavours prospered. Saw you of late 
Sir Giles, your uncle ? 

Well. I heard of him, madam, 

Bv his minister, Marrall ; he's grown into strange passions 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 291 

About his daughter. This last night he looked for 
Your lordship at his house, but missing you, 
And she not yet appearing, his wise head 
Is much perplexed and troubled. 

Lov. It may be, 

Sweetheart, my project took. 

L. All. I strongly hope. 

Over. [Within.] Ha ! find her, booby, thou huge lump 
of nothing, 
I'll bore thine eyes out else. 

Well. May it please your lordship, 

For some ends of mine own, but to withdraw 91 

A little out of sight, though not of hearing, 
You may, perhaps, have sport. 

Lov. You shall direct me. 

[Steps aside. 

Enter Overreach, with distracted looks, driving in Marr- 
all before him, with a box 

Over. I shall sol fa you, rogue ! 

Mar. Sir, for what cause 

Do you use me thus ? 

Over. Cause, slave ! why, I am angry, 

And thou a subject only fit for beating, 
And so to cool my choler. Look to the writing. 
Let but the seal be broke upon the box 
That has slept in my cabinet these three years, 
I'll rack thy soul for't. 

Mar. [Aside.] I may yet cry quittance, 100 

Though now I suffer, and dare not resist. 

Over. Lady, by your leave, did you see my daughter, 
lady, 
And the lord her husband ? Are they in your house ? 
If they are, discover, that I may bid them joy ; 
And, as an entrance to her place of honour, 
See your ladyship on her left hand, and make curtsies 



292 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act v 

When she nods on you ; n which you must receive 
As a special favour. 

L. All. When I know, Sir Giles, 

Her state requires such ceremony, I shall pay it. 
But, in the mean time, as I am myself, no 

I give you to understand, I neither know 
Nor care where her honour is. 

Over. When you once see her 

Supported, and led by the lord her husband, 
You'll be taught better. — Nephew. 

Well. Sir. 

Over. No more ! n 

Well. Tis all I owe you. 

Over. Have your redeemed n rags 

Made you thus insolent ? 

Well. Insolent to you ! 

Why, what are you, sir, unless in your years, 
At the best, more than myself ? 

Over. [Aside.] His fortune swells him. 

'Tis rank, he's married. 

L. All. This is excellent ! 

Over. Sir, in calm language, though I seldom use it, 
I -am familiar with the cause that makes you 121 

Bear up thus bravely. There's a certain buzz 
Of a stolen marriage, do you hear ? of a stolen marriage, 
In which, 'tis said, there's somebody hath been cozened. 
I name no parties. 

Well. Well, sir, and what follows ? 

Over. Marry, this; since you are peremptory." Re- 
member, 
Upon mere hope of your great match, I lent you 
A thousand pounds. Put me in good security, 
And suddenly, by mortgage or by statute," 
Of some of your new possessions, or I'll have you 130 
Dragged in your lavender robes n to the jail. You know 

tne, 
And therefore do not trifle. 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 293 

Well. Can you be 

So cruel to your nephew, now he's in 
The way to rise ? Was this the courtesy 
You did me "in pure love, and no ends else ?■" 

Over. End me no ends ! Engage the whole estate, 
And force your spouse to sign it, you shall have 
Three or four thousand more, to roar and swagger 
And revel in bawdy taverns. 

Well. And beg after ; 

Mean you not so ? 

Over. My thoughts are mine, and free. 140 

Shall I have security ? 

Well. No, indeed you shall not, 

Nor bond, nor bill, noj bare acknowledgment. 
Your great looks fright not me. 

Over. But my deeds shall. 

Outbraved ! [Both draw. 

L. All. Help, murder ! murder ! 

Enter Servants 

Well. Let him come on, 

With all his wrongs and injuries about him, 
Armed with his cut-throat practices 11 to guard him. 
The right that I bring with me will defend me, 
And punish his extortion. 

Over. That I had thee 

But single in the field ! 

L. AIL You may ; but make not 

My house your quarrelling scene. 

Over. Were't in a church, 

By Heaven and Hell, I'll do't ! 

Mar. Now put him to 151 

The showing of the deed. [Aside to Wellborn. 

Well. This rage is vain, sir. 

For fighting, fear not, you shall have your hands full, 
Upon the least incitement ; and whereas 



294 A NEW WAY T0 PAY LD DEBTS [act v 

You charge me with a debt of a thousand pounds, 

If there be law — howe'er D you have no conscience — 

Either restore my land, or I'll recover 

A debt, that's truly due to me from you, 

In value ten times more than what you challenge. 

Over. I in thy debt ! O impudence ! Did I not pur- 
chase 160 
The land left by thy father, that rich land, 
That had continued in Wellborn 's name 
Twenty descents ; which, like a riotous fool, 
Thou didst make sale of ? Is not here, inclosed, 
The deed that does confirm it mine ? 

Mar. Now, now ! 

Well. I do acknowledge none ; I ne'er passed over 
Any such land. I grant, for a year or two 
You had it in trust ; which if you do discharge, 
Surrendering the possession, you shall ease 
Yourself and me of chargeable suits in law, 170 

Which, if you prove not honest, as I doubt it, 
Must of necessity follow. 

L. All. In my judgement, 

He does advise you well. 

Over. Good ! good ! conspire 

With your new husband, lady ; second him 
In his dishonest practices. But when 
This manor is extended n to my use, 
You'll speak in an humbler key, and sue for favour. 

L. All. Never; do not hope it. 

Well. Let despair first seize me. 

Over. Yet, to shut up thy mouth, and make thee 
give 
Thyself the lie, the loud lie, I draw out 180 

The precious evidence. If thou canst forswear 
Thy hand and seal, and make a forfeit of 

[Opens the box, and displays the bond. 
Thy ears to the pillory, see ! Here's that will make 
My interest clear — ha! 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 295 

L. All. A fair skin of parchment. 

Well. Indented, 11 I confess, and labels too ; 
But neither wax nor words. How ! Thunderstruck ? 
Not a syllable to insult with ? My wise uncle, 
Is this your precious evidence, this that makes 
Your interest clear ? 

Over. I am o'er whelmed with wonder ! 

What prodigy is this ? What subtle devil 190 

Hath razed out the inscription ? The wax 
Turned into dust ! The rest of my deeds whole 
As when they were delivered, and this only 
Made nothing ! Do you deal with witches, rascal ? 
There is a statute for you, which will bring 
Your neck in an hempen circle ; n yes, there is. 
And now 'tis better thought for, cheater, know 
This juggling shall not save you. 

Well. To save thee, 

Would beggar the stock of mercy. 

Over. Marrall ! 

Mar. Sir. 

Over. [Aside to Marrall.] Though the witnesses are 
dead, your testimony 200 

Help with an oath or two ; and for thy master, 
Thy liberal master, my good honest servant, 
I know thou wilt swear anything, to dash 
This cunning sleight. Besides, I know thou art 
A public notary, and such stand in law 
For a dozen witnesses. The deed being drawn too 
By thee, my careful Marrall, and delivered 
When thou wert present, will make good my title. 
Wilt thou not swear this ? 

Mar. I ! No, I assure you. 

I have a conscience not seared up like yours. 210 

I know no deeds. 

Over. W T ilt thou betray me ? 

Mar. Keep him 

From using of his hands, I'll use my tongue, 



296 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act v 

To his no little torment. 

Over. Mine own varlet 

Rebel against me ! 

Mar. Yes, and uncase you too. 

"The idiot, the patch, the slave, the booby, 
The property fit only to be beaten 
For your morning exercise," your "football," or 
"The unprofitable lump of flesh," your "drudge, 
Can now anatomize you, and lay open 
All your black plots, and level with the earth 220 

Your hill of pride, and, with these gabions guarded, 
Unload my great artillery, and shake, 
Nay pulverize, the walls you think defend you. 

L. All. How he foams at the mouth with rage ! 

Well. To him again. 

Over. O that I had thee in my gripe, I would tear thee 
Joint after joint ! 

Mar. I know you are a tearer, 

But I'll have first your fangs pared off, and then 
Come nearer to you. When I have discovered, 
And made it good before the judge, what ways, 
And devilish practices, you used to cozen with 230 

An army of whole families, who yet alive, 
And but enrolled for soldiers, were able 
To take in n Dunkirk. 

Well. All will come out. 

L. All. The better. 

Over. But that I will live, rogue, to torture thee, 
And make thee wish, and kneel in vain, to die, 
These swords that keep thee from me should fix here, n 
Although they made my body but one wound, 
But I would reach thee. 

Lov. [Aside.] Heaven's hand is in this; 

One bandog worry the other ! 

Over. I play the fool, 

And make my anger but ridiculous. 240 

There will be a time and place, there will be, cowards, 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 297 

When you shall feel what I dare do. 

Well. I think so. 

You dare do any ill, yet want true valour 
To be honest, and repent. 

Over. They are words I know not, 

Nor e'er will learn. Patience, the beggar's virtue, 

Enter Greedy and Parson Willdo 

Shall find no harbour here. After these storms 
At length a calm appears. Welcome, most welcome ! 
There's comfort in thy looks. Is the deed done ? 
Is my daughter married ? Say but so, my chaplain, 
And I am tame. 

Willdo. Married ! Yes, I assure you. 250 

Over. Then vanish all sad thoughts ! There's more 
gold for thee. 
My doubts and fears are in the titles drowned 
Of my honourable, my right honourable daughter. 

Greedy. Here will be feasting, at least for a month ! 
I am provided. Empty guts, croak no more. 
You shall be stuffed like bagpipes, not with wind, 
But bearing dishes. 

Over. Instantly be here ? 

[Whispering to Willdo. 
To my wish ! to my wish ! Now you that plot against me, 
And hoped to trip my heels up, that contemned me, 
Think on't and tremble. [Loud music] They come ! I 
hear the music. 260 

A lane there for my lord ! 

Well. This sudden heat 

May yet be cooled, sir. 

Over. Make way there for my lord ! 



298 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act v 
Enter Allworth and Margaret 

Marg. Sir, first your pardon, then your blessing, with 
Your full allowance of the choice I have made. 
As ever you could make use of your reason, [Kneeling. 
Grow not in passion ; since you may as well 
Call back the day that's past, as untie the knot 
Which is too strongly fastened. Not to dwell 
Too long on words, this is my husband. 

Over. How ! 

AIL So I assure you ; all the rites of marriage, 270 
With every circumstance, are past. Alas, sir, 
Although I am no lord, but a lord's page, 
Your daughter and my loved wife mourns not for it ; 
And, for right honourable son-in-law, you may say, 
Your dutiful daughter. 

Over. Devil ! Are they married ? 

Willdo. Do a father's part, and say, Heaven give them 
joy! 

Over. Confusion and ruin ! Speak, and speak 
quickly, 
Or thou art dead. 

Willdo. They are married. 

Over. Thou hadst better 

Have made a contract with the king of fiends, 
Than these. My brain turns ! 

Willdo. Why this rage to me ? 

Is not this your letter, sir, and these the words ? 281 

" Marry her to this gentleman." 

Over. It cannot — 

Nor will I e'er believe it, 'sdeath ! I will not. 
That I, that in all passages 11 I touched 
At worldly profit have not left a print 
Where I have trod for the most curious search 
To trace my footsteps, should be gulled by children, 
Baffled and fooled, and all my hopes and labours 
I )efeated and made void. 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 299 

Well. As it appears, 

You are so, my grave uncle. 

Over. Village nurses n 290 

Revenge their wrongs with curses. I'll not waste 
A syllable but thus I take the life 
Which, wretched, I gave to thee. 

[Attempts to kill Margaret. 

Lov. [Coming forward.} Hold, for your own sake! 

Though charity to n your daughter hath quite left 

you, 
Will you do an act, though in your hopes lost here, 
Can leave no hope for peace or rest hereafter ? 
Consider ; at the best you are but a man, 
And cannot so create your aims, but that 
They may be crossed. 

Over. Lord ! Thus I spit at thee, 

And at thy counsel ; and again desire thee, 300 

And as thou art a soldier, if thy valour 
Dares show itself where multitude and example 
Lead not the way, let's quit the house, and change 
Six words in private. 

Lov. I am ready. 

L. All. Stay, sir, 

Contest with one distracted ! 

Well. You'll grow like him, 

Should you answer his vain challenge. 

Over. Are you pale ? 

Borrow his help, though Hercules call it odds, 
I'll stand against both as I am, hemmed in — 
Thus! 

Since, like a Libyan lion n in the toil, n 310 

My fury cannot reach the coward hunters, 
And only spends itself, I'll quit the place. 
Alone I can do nothing. But I have servants 
And friends to second me ; and if I make not 
This house a heap of ashes — by my wrongs, 
What I have spoke I will make good — or leave • 



300 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act v 

One throat uncut, — if it be possible, 

Hell, add to my afflictions ! [Exit. 

Mar. Is't not brave sport ? 

Greedy. Brave sport ! I am sure it has ta'en away my 
stomach ; 
I do not like the sauce. 

All. Nay, weep not, dearest, 320 

Though it express your pity. What's decreed 
Above, we cannot alter. 

L. All. His threats move me 

No scruple, madam. n 

Mar. Was it not a rare trick, 

An it please your worship, to make the deed nothing ? 
I can do twenty neater, if you please 
To purchase n and grow rich ; for I will be 
Such a solicitor and steward for you, 
As never worshipful had. 

Well. I do believe thee. 

But first discover the quaint means you used 
To raze out the conveyance ? 

Mar. They are mysteries 330 

Not to be spoke in public. Certain minerals 
Incorporated in the ink and wax — 
Besides, he gave me nothing, but still fed me 
With hopes and blows; and that was the induce- 
ment 
To this conundrum. If it please your worship 
To call to memory, this mad beast once caused me 
To urge you or to drown or hang yourself ; 
III do the like to him, if you command me. 

Well. You're a rascal ! He that dares be false 
To a master, though unjust, will ne'er be true 340 

To any other. Look not for reward 
Or favour from me. I will shun thy sight 
As I would do a basilisk's. Thank my pity, 
If thou keep thy ears. Howe'er, I will take order 
Your practice shall be silenced. 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 301 

Greedy. I'll commit him, 

If you'll have me, sir. 

Well. That were to little purpose ; 

His conscience be his prison. Not a word, 
But instantly be gone. 

Ord. Take this kick with you. 

Amb. And this. 

Furn. If that I had my cleaver n here, 

I would divide your knave's head. 

Mar. This is the haven 

False servants still arrive at. [Exit. 

Re-enter Overreach 

L. All. Come again ! 351 

Lov. Fear not, I am your guard. 

Well. His looks are ghastly. 

Willdo. Some little time I have spent, under your 
favours, 
In physical studies, and if my judgement err not, 
He's mad beyond recovery. But observe him, 
And look to yourselves. 

Over. Why, is not the whole world 

Included in myself ? To what use then 
Are friends and servants ? Say there were a squadron 
Of pikes, lined through with shot, when I am mounted 
Upon my injuries, shall I fear to charge them ? 360 

No. I'll through the battalia, and that routed, 

[Flourishing his sword sheathed. 
I'll fall to execution. Ha ! I am feeble. 
Some undone widow sits upon mine arm, 
And takes aw T ay the use oft ; and my sword, 
Glued to my scabbard with wronged orphans' tears, 
Will not be drawn. Ha, what are these ? Sure, hang- 
men, 
That come to bind my hands, and then to drag me 
Before the judgement-seat. Now they are new shapes, 



302 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS [act v 

And do appear like Furies, with steel whips 

To scourge my ulcerous soul. Shall I then fall 37 o 

Ingloriously, and yield ? No ; spite of Fate, 

I will be forced to hell like to myself. 

Though you were legions of accursed spirits, 

Thus would I fly among you. 

[Rushes forward, and flings himself on the ground. 

Well. There's no help. 

Disarm him first, then bind him. 

Greedy. Take a mittimus? 

And carry him to Bedlam. 11 

Lov. How he foams ! 

Well. And bites the earth ! 

Willdo. Carry him to some dark room, n 

There try what art can do for his recovery. 

Marg. O my dear father ! 

[They force Overreach off. 

All. You must be patient, mistress. 

Lov. Here is a precedent to teach wicked men, 380 
That when they leave religion, and turn atheists, 
Their own abilities leave them. Pray you take comfort, 
I will endeavour you shall be his guardians 
In his distractions ; and for your land, Master Wellborn, 
Be it good or ill in law, I'll be an umpire 
Between you, and this, the undoubted heir 
Of Sir Giles Overreach. For me, here's the anchor 11 
That I must fix on. 

All. What you shall determine, 

My lord, I will allow of. 

Well. 'Tis the language 

That I speak too. But there is something else 390 

Beside the repossession of my land, 
And payment of my debts, that I must practise. 
I had a reputation, but 'twas lost 
In my loose course; and until I redeem it 
Some noble way, I am but half made up. n 
It is a time of action. If your lordship 



scene i] A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 303 

Will please to confer a company upon me 

In your command, I doubt not in my sendee 

To my king and country but I shall do something 399 

That may make me right again. 

Lov. Your suit is granted, 

And you loved for the motion. 11 

Well. [Coming forward.} Nothing wants n then 

But your allowance, and in that our all 
Is comprehended ; it being known, nor we, 
Nor he that wrote the comedy, can be free, 
Without your manumission ; which if you 
Grant willingly, as a fair favour due 
To the poet's and our labours — as you may, 
For we despair not, gentlemen, of the play — 
We jointly shall profess your grace hath might 409 

To teach us action, and him how to write. [Exeunt. 



BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 



BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 

This play, first heard of as acted May 7, 1631, was not 
printed, and being in the list of fifty-five manuscript dramas 
destroyed in Warburton's kitchen, was long supposed to 
have perished. In 1844 a manuscript copy came into the 
hands of T. Crofton Crocker, who loaned it for publication 
to the Percy Society in 1849. Again the original disappeared, 
but was recovered in 1900 and secured by the British Museum. 
The copy bears the stamp of the Master of the Revels, and 
from certain blunders and interlinear corrections is judged 
to be in the author's handwriting. The plot seems to have 
been taken from The Strangest Adventure that ever Hap- 
pened, which was translated from the French by Anthony 
Munday and printed in 1601. This was originally a Spanish 
tractate in support of a pretender who had appeared in 1598 
at Venice, professing to be Dom Sebastian of Portugal, 
falsely reported to have fallen in battle twenty years before. 
Massinger took over the chief personages and their names, 
including the character of Stephen Sampayo, called Bere- 
cinthius in the present revision of the play. A reproduction 
of Massinger's manuscript was added to The Tudor Society 
Fac-Simile Series in 1904. 



306 



PROLOGUE 

So far our author is from arrogance 

That he craves pardon for his ignorance 

In story. If you find what's Roman here, 

Grecian, or Asiatic, draw too near 

A late and sad example, 11 'tis confessed 

He's but an English scholar at his best, 

A stranger to cosmography, and may err 

In the countries' names, the shape and character 

Of the persons he presents. Yet he is bold 

In me to promise, be it new or old, 

The tale is worth the hearing ; and may move 

Compassion, perhaps deserve your love 

And approbation. He dares not boast 

His pains and care, or what books he hath tossed 

And turned to make it up. The rarity 

Of the events in this strange history, 

Now offered to you, by his own confession, 

Must make it good, and not his weak expression. 

You sit his judges, and like judges be 

From favour to his cause, or malice, free ; 

Then, whether he hath hit the white n or missed, 

As the title speaks, Believe you as you list. 



307 



DRAMATIS PERSONS 

Antiochus, King of the Lower Asia. 

Titus Flaminius, Roman Ambassador at Carthage. 

Lentulus, Successor of Flaminius at Carthage. 

Metellus, Proconsul of Lusitania. 

Marcellus, Proconsul of Sicily. 

Amilcar, Prince of the Carthaginian Senate. 

Hanno, 1 

Asdrubal, !• Carthaginian Senators. 

Carthalo, J 

Prusias, King of Bithynia. 

Philoxenus, his Minister and Tutor. 

Berecinthius, a Flamen of Cybele. 

ist Merchant, 1 

2nd Merchant, 1 former Subjects of Antiochus. 

3rd Merchant, J 

Calistus, 



Freedmen of Flaminius. 
Demetrius, 

Titus, a Spy in the service of Flaminius. 

Chrysalus, 1 

Syrus, J Servants of Antiochus. 

Geta, J 

Sempronius, a Captain. 

A Stoic Philosopher. 

A Jailer. 

Senators, Captain, Officers, Guards, Attendants, &c. 

Queen of Prusias. 

Cornelia, Wife of Marcellus. 

A Courtesan. 

A Moorish Waiting Woman. 

Scene — Carthage, Bithynia, Callipolis, and Syracuse 



308 



BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 

ACT THE FIRST 
Scene I 
The neighbourhood of Carthage 
Enter Antiochus and a Stoic Philosopher 

Stoic. You are now in sight of Carthage, that great 
city, 
Which, in her empire's vastness, rivals Rome 
At her proud height ; two hours will bring you thither. 
Make use of what you have learned in your long travels, 
And from the golden principles read to you 
In the Athenian Academy, 11 stand resolved 
For either fortune. You must now forget 
The contemplations of a private man, 
And put in action that which may comply 
With the majesty of a monarch. 

Ant. How that title, 10 

That glorious attribute of majesty, 
That troublesome though most triumphant robe 
Designed me in my birth, which I have worn 
With terror and astonishment to others, 
Affrights me now ! O memory, memory 
Of what I was once, when the Eastern world 
With wonder, in my May of youth, looked on me ; n 
Ambassadors of the most potent kings, 
With noble emulation, contending 

To court my friendship, their fair daughters offered 20 
, As pledges to assure it, with all pomp 

3°9 



310 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act i 

And circumstance of glory ; Rome herself, 
And Carthage, emulous whose side I should 
Confirm in my protection ! O remembrance ! 
With what ingenious cruelty and tortures, 
Out of a due consideration of 
My present low and desperate condition, 
Dost thou afflict me now ! 

Stoic. You must oppose — 

For so the Stoic discipline commands you n — 
That wisdom, with your patience, fortified, 30 

Which holds dominion over fate, against 
The torrent of your passion. 

Ant. I should, 

I do confess I should, if I could drink up 
That river of forge tfulness poets dream of. n 
But still in dreadful forms — philosophy wanting 
Power to remove them — all those innocent spirits, 
Borrowing again their bodies, gashed with wounds, 
Which strowed Achaia's bloody plains, 11 and made 
Rivulets of gore, appear to me, exacting 
A strict account of my ambition's folly, 40 

For the exposing of twelve thousand souls, 
Who fell that fatal day, to certain ruin ; 
Neither the counsel of the Persian king 
Prevailing with me, nor the grave advice 
Of my wise enemy, Marcus Scaurus, n hindering 
My desperate enterprise, too late repented. 
Methinks I now look on my butchered army — 

Stoic. This is mere melancholy. 

Ant. O, 'tis more, sir; 

Here, there, and everywhere they do pursue me. 
The genius of my country, made a slave, 50 

Like a weeping mother, seems to kneel before me, 
Wringing her manacled hands; the hopeful youth 
And bravery of my kingdom, in their pale 
And ghastly looks, lamenting that they were 
Too soon by my means forced from their sweet being; 



scene i] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 311 

Old . . sper with his fierce beams nour . . e in vain n 
Their olives and 

Trained up in all delights, or sacred to 

The chaste Diana's rites, compelled to bow to 

The soldier's lusts, or at an outcry sold, 60 

Under the spear n like beasts, to be spurned and trod on 

By their proud mistresses, the Roman matrons ! — 

O sir, consider then if it can be 

In the constancy of a Stoic to endure 

What now I suffer. 

Stoic. Two and twenty years 

Travelling o'er the world, you have paid the forfeit 
Of this engagement ; shed a sea of tears 
In your sorrow for it ; and now, being called from 
The rigour of a strict philosopher's life 
By the cries of your poor country, you are bound 70 

With an obedient cheerfulness to follow 
The path that you are entered in, which will 
Guide you out of a wilderness of horror 
To the flourishing plains of safety, the just gods 
Smoothing the w T ay before you. 

Ant. Though I grant 

That all impossibilities are easy 
To their omnipotence, give me leave to fear 
The more than doubtful issue. Can it fall 
In the compass of my hopes, the lordly Romans, 
So long possessed of Asia, their plea 80 

Made good by conquest, and that ratified 
W r ith their religious authority, 
The propagation of the commonwealth, 
To whose increase they are sworn to, will e'er part with 
A prey so precious, # and dearly purchased ? 
A tigress circled with her famished whelps 
Will sooner yield a lamb, snatched from the flock, 
To the dumb oratory of the ewe 
Than Rome restore one foot of earth that may 
Diminish her vast empire. 



312 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act i 

Stoic. In her will, go 

This may be granted ; but you have a title 
So strong and clear that there's no colour left 
To varnish Rome's pretences. Add this, sir: 
The Asian princes, warned by your example, 
And yet unconquered, never will consent 
That such a foul example of injustice 
Shall, to the scandal of the present age, 
Hereafter be recorded. They in this 
Are equally engaged with you, and must 
Though not in love to justice, for their safety, 100 

In policy assist, guard, and protect you. 
And you may rest assured neither the king 
Of Parthia, n the Gauls, nor big-boned Germans, 
Nor this great Carthage, grown already jealous 
Of Rome's encroaching empire, will cry aim n 
To such an usurpation, which must 
Take from their own security. Besides, 
Your mother was a Roman ; for her sake, 
And the families from which she is derived, 
You must find favour. 

Ant. For her sake ! Alas, sir, no 

Ambition knows no kindred; " right and lawful" 
Was never yet found as a marginal note 
In the black book of profit. I am sunk 
Too low to be buoyed up, it being held 
A foolish weakness and disease in statists, 
In favour of a weak man, to provoke 
Such as are mighty. The imperious waves 
Of my calamities have already fallen 

11 unravel 11 

[Exeunt all but Antiochus. 

Ant 12Q 

opes despair with sable wings 

ore my head ; the gold with which 

us furnished me to supply my wants 

. . . made my first appearance like myself 






scene i] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 313 

s disloyal villains ravished from me. 

Wretch that I was to tempt their abject minds 

With such a purchase ! Can I, in this weed, 

And without gold to fee an advocate 

To plead my royal title, nourish hope 

Of a recovery ? Forlorn majesty, 130 

Wanting the outward gloss and ceremony 

To give it lustre, meets no more respect 

Than knowledge with the ignorant. Ha ! what is 

Contained in this waste paper ? 'Tis endorsed 

"To the no-king Antiochus" ; and subscribed 

"No more thy servant, but superior, Chrysalus." 

What am I fallen to ? There is something writ more. 

Why this small piece of silver ? What I read may 

Reveal the mystery : "Forget thou wert ever 

Called King Antiochus. With this charity 140 

I enter thee a beggar." Too tough heart, 

Will nothing break thee ? O that now I stood 

On some high pyramid, from whence I might 

Be seen by the whole world, and with a voice 

Louder than thunder pierce the ears of proud 

And secure greatness with the true relation 

Of my remarkable story, that my fall 

Might not be fruitless, but still live the great 

Example of man's frailty. I that was 

Born and bred up a king, whose frown or smile 150 

Spake death or life, my will a law, my person 

Environed with an army, now exposed 

To the contempt and scorn of my own slave, 

Who in his pride, as a god compared with me, 

Bids me become a beggar ! But complaints 

Are weak and womanish. I will, like a palm-tree, 11 

Grow under my huge weight ; nor shall the fear 

Of death or torture that dejection bring, 

To make me live or die less than a king. [Exit. 



314 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act i 

Scene II 

A Street in Carthage 

Enter Berecinthius, with three petitions, and three 
Merchants of Asia 

ist Mer. We are grown so contemptible he disdains 
To give us hearing. 

2nd Mer. Keeps us off at such distance, 

And with his Roman gravity declines 
Our suit for conference, as with much more ease 
We might make our approaches to the Parthian, 
Without a present, than work him to have 
A feeling of our grievances. 

yd Mer. A statesman ! 

The devil, I think, who only knows him truly, 
Can give his character. When he is to determine 
A point of justice, his words fall in measure 10 

Like plummets of a clock, observing time 
And just proportion. 

ist Mer. But when he is 

To speak in any cause concerns himself, 
Or Rome's republic, like a gushing torrent, 
Not to be stopped in its full course, his reasons, 
Delivered like a second Mercury, 11 
Break in, and bear down whatsoever is 
Opposed against them. 

2nd Mer. When he smiles, let such 

Beware as have to do with him, for then, 
Sans doubt, he's bent to mischief. 

Bere. As I am 

Cybele's flamen n whose most sacred image, 
Drawn thus in pomp," T wear upon my breast — 
I am privileged, nor is it in his power 
To do me wrong; and lie shall find I can 
Chant, and aloud too, when I am not at 



scene H] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 315 

Her altar kneeling. Mother of the gods ! n What is 

he? 
At his best but a patrician of Rome, 
His name Titus Flaminius ; n and speak mine, 
Berecinthius, arch-flamen to Cybele, 
It makes as great a sound. 

yd Mer. True ; but his place, sir, 30 

And the power it carries in it, as Rome's legate, 
Gives him pre-eminence o'er you. 

Bere. Not an atom. 

When moral honesty and jus gentium n fail 
To lend relief to such as are oppressed, 
Religion must use her strength. I am perfect 
In these notes you gave me. Do they contain at full 
Your grievances and losses ? 

1st Mer Would they were 

As well redressed, as they are punctually 
Delivered to you. 

Bere. Say no more ; they shall, 

And to the purpose. 

2d Mer. Here he comes. 

Bere. Have at him ! 40 



Enter Flaminius, Calistus, and Demetrius 

Flam. Blow away these troublesome and importunate 
drones ; 
I have embryons n of greater consequence 
In my imaginations, to which 
I must give life and form, not now vouchsafing 
To hear their idle buzzes. 

2nd Mer. Note you that ? 

Bere^ Yes, I do note it ; but the flamen is not 
So light to be removed by a groom's breath. 
I I must and will speak, and I thus confront him. 

Flam. But that the image of the goddess which 

■ 



316 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act i 

Thou wear'st upon thy breast protects thy rudeness, 50 
It had forfeited thy life. Dost thou not tremble 
When an incensed Roman frowns ? 

Bere. I see 

No Gorgon in your face. 

Flam. Must I speak in thunder 

Before thou wilt be awed ? 

Bere. I rather look 

For reverence from thee, if thou respectest 
The goddess' power, and in her name I charge thee 
To give me hearing. If these lions roar, 
For thy contempt of her expect a vengeance 
Suitable to thy pride. 

Flam. Thou shalt o'ercome ; 

There's no contending with thee. 

yd Mer. Hitherto 60 

The flamen hath the better. 

1st Mer. But I fear 

He will not keep it. 

Bere. Know you these men's faces ? 

Flam. Yes, yes, poor Asiatics. 

Bere. Poor ! they are made so 

By your Roman tyranny and oppression. 

Flam 

If arrogantly you presume to take 
The Roman government, your goddess can 
Give privilege to it, and you'll find and feel 
'Tis little less than treason, flamen. 

Bere. Truth 

T11 your pride is so interpreted. These poor men, 70 

These Asiatic merchants, whom you look on 
With such contempt and scorn, are they to whom 
Rome owes her bravery; their industrious search 
To the farthest Ind, with danger to themselves 
Brings home security to you unthankful". 
Your magazines are from their sweat supplied; 
The Legions with which you fright the world 



scene ii] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 317 

Are from their labour paid ; the Tyrian fish, n 

Whose blood dyes your proud purple in the colour 

Distinguishing the senator's guarded robe n 80 

From a plebeian habit, their nets catch ; 

The diamond hewed from the rock, the pearl 

Dived for into the bottom of the sea, 

The sapphire, ruby, jacinth, amber, coral, 

And all rich ornaments of your Latian dames, 

Are Asian spoils. They are indeed the nurses 

And sinews of your war, and without them 

What could you do ? Your handkercher — 

Flam. Wipe your face ; 

You are in a sweat. The weather's hot; take heed 
Of melting your fat kidneys. 

Bere. There's no heat 90 

Can thaw thy frozen conscience. 

Flam. To it again now ; 

I am not moved. 

Bere. I see it. If you had 

The feeling of a man you would not suffer 
These men, who have deserved so well, to sink 
Under the burthen of their wrongs. If they 
Are subjects, why enjoy they not the right 
And privilege of subjects ? What defence 
Can you allege for your connivance to 
The Carthaginian galleys, who forced from them 
The prize they took, belonging not to them 100 

Nor their confederates ? 

Flam. With reverence 

To your so sacred goddess, I must tell you 
You are grown presumptuous ; and, in your demands, 
A rash and saucy flamen. Meddle with 
Your juggling mysteries, and keep in awe 
Your gelded ministers. Shall I yield account 
Of what I do to you ? 

1st Mer. He smiles in frown. 

2nd Mer. Nay, then, I know what follows, 



318 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act i 

yd Mer. In his looks 

A tempest rises. 

Flam. How dare you complain, 

Or in a look repine ? Our government nc 

Hath been too easy, and the yoke which Rome 
In her accustomed lenity imposed 
Upon your stubborn necks begets contempt. 
Hath our familiar commerce and trading, 
Almost as with our equals, taught you to 
Dispute our actions ? Have you quite forgot 
What we are, and you ought to be ? Shall vassals 
Capitulate with their lords ? 

2nd Mer. Ay, now he speaks 

In his own dialect. 

Flam. Tis too frequent, wretches, 

To have the vanquished hate the conqueror, 12c 

And from us needs no answer. Do not I know 
How odious the lordly Roman is 
To the despised Asian ; and that 
To gain your liberty you would pull down 
The altars of your gods, and, like the giants, 
Raise a new war 'gainst Heaven ? 

1st Mer. Terrible. 

Flam. Did you not give assurance of this, when 
Giddy Antiochus died ? and, rather than 
Accept us guardians of your orphan kingdom, 
When the victorious Scaurus with his sword 130 

Pleaded the Roman title, with our vote, 
You did exclaim against us as the men 
That sought to lay an unjust gripe upon 
Your territories ; ne'er remembering that 
In the brass-leaved book of fate it was set down 
The earth should know no sovereign but Rome. 
Yet you repined, and rather chose to pay 
Homage and fealty to the Parthian, 
The Egyptian Ptolemy," or indeed any, 
Than bow unto the Roman. 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 319 

Bere. And perhaps 140 

Our government in them had been more gentle, 
Since yours is insupportable. 

Flam. If thou wert not 

In a free state, the tongue that belcheth forth 
These blasphemies should be seared. — [To the Merchants.] 

For you, presume not 
To trouble me hereafter. If you do, 
You shall with horror to your proudest hopes 
Feel really that we have iron hammers 
To pulverize rebellion, and that 
We dare use you as slaves. — [To Berecinthius.] Be 

you, too, warned, sir, 
Since this is my last caution. I have seen 150 

A murmurer, like yourself, for his attempting 
To raise sedition in Rome's provinces, 
Hanged up in such a habit. 

[Exeunt Flaminius, Calistus, and Demetrius. 

Bere. I have took 

Poison in at my ears, and I shall burst 
If it come not up in my reply. 

1st Mer. He's gone, sir. 

Bere. He durst not stay me. If he had, had found 
I would not swallow my spittle. 

2nd Mer. As we must 

Our wrongs and our disgraces. 

yd Mer. O, the wretched 

Condition that we live in ; made the anvil 159 

On which Rome's tyrannies are shaped and fashioned ! 

1st Mer. But our calamities there's nothing left us 
Which we can call our own. 

2nd Mer. Our wives and daughters 

Lie open to their lusts, and such as should be 
Our judges dare not right us. 

yd Mer. O Antiochus ! 

Thrice happy were the men whom fate appointed 
To fall with thee in Achaia. 



320 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act i 

2nd Mer. They have set 

A period to their miseries. 

ist Mer. We survive 

To linger out a tedious life ; and death — 
We call in vain what flies us. 

Bere. If religion 

Be not a mere word only, and the gods 170 

Are just, we shall find a delivery 
When least expected. 

15/ Mer. 'Tis beyond all hope, sir. 

Enter Antiochus 

Bere. Ha ! who is this ? 

Ant. Your charity to a poor man, 

As you are Asians. 

2nd Mer. Pray you observe him. 

yd Mer. I am amazed ! 

ist Mer. I thunderstruck ! 

Bere. What are you ? 

Ant. The King Antiochus. 

2nd Mer. Or some deity 

That hath assumed his shape ? 

Bere. He only differs 

In the colour of his hair, and age. 

Ant. Consider 

What two and twenty years of misery 
Can work upon a wretch, that long time spent too 180 
Under distant zeniths, and the change you look on 
Will not deserve your wonder. 

ist Mer. His own voice. 

2nd Mer. His very countenance, his forehead, eyes. 

yd Mer. His nose, his very lip. 

Bere. His stature, speech. 

ist Mer. His very hand, teg, and foot, on the left side 
Shorter than Oil the right. 



SCENE II] 



BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 



321 



2nd Mer. The moles upon 

His face and hands. 

yd Mer. The scars caused by his hurts 

On his right brow and head. 

Bere. The hollowness 

Of his under jaw, occasioned by the loss 
Of a tooth pulled out by his chirurgeon. 

1st Mer. To confirm us, 190 

Tell us your chirurgeon's name, when he served you. 

Ant. You all knew him, 
As I do you : Demetrius Castor. 

2nd Mer. Strange ! 

yd Mer. But most infallibly true. 

Bere. So many marks 

Confirming us, we sin in our distrust. 
A sacrifice for his safety. 

1st Mer. May Rome sink ! 

2nd Mer. And Asia once more flourish ! 

yd Mer. You the means, sir ! 

Ant. Silence your shouts. I will give stronger proofs 
Than these exterior marks when I appear 
Before the Carthaginian senators, 200 

With whom I have held more intelligence 
And private counsels than with all the kings 
Of Asia or Afric. I'll amaze them 
With the wonder of my story. 

Bere. Yet, until 

Your majesty be furnished like yourself, 
To a neighbour village — 

Ant. Where you please. The omen 

Of this encounter promises a good issue ; 
And, our gods pleased, oppressed Asia, 
When aid is least expected, may shake off 
The insulting Roman bondage, and in me 210 

Gain and enjoy her pristine liberty. [Exeunt. 



ACT THE SECOND 

Scene I 

Carthage. A Room in the House of Flaminius 

Enter Flaminius and Calistus 

Flam. A man that*styles himself Antiochus, say you ? 

Cal. Not alone styled so, but as such received 
And honoured by the Asians. 

Flam. Two impostors, 

For their pretension to that fatal name, 
Already have paid dear ; nor shall this third 
Escape unpunished. 

Cal. 'Twill exact your wisdom 

With an Herculean arm — the cause requires it — 
To strangle this new monster in the birth. 
For, on my life, he hath delivered to 
The credulous multitude such reasons why 10 

They should believe he is the true Antiochus 
That, with their gratulations for his safety, 
And wishes for his restitution, many 
Offer the hazard of their lives and fortunes 
To do him service. 

Flam. Poor seduced fools ! 

However, 'tis a business of such weight 
I must not sleep in't. Is he now in Carthage ? 

Cal. No, sir ; removed to a grange some two miles off ; 
And there the malcontents, and such whose wants 
With forfeited credits make them wish a change 20 

Of the Roman government, in troops flock to him. 

322 



scene i] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 323 

Flam. With one puff — thus — I will disperse and 

scatter 
This heap of dust. Here, take my ring. By this 
Entreat my friend Amilcar n to procure 
A mandate from the Carthaginian Senate 
For the apprehension of this impostor, 
And with all possible speed. [Exit Calistus.] Howe'er 

I know 
The rumour of Antiochus' death uncertain, 
It much imports the safety of great Rome 
To have it so believed. 

Enter Demetrius 

Bern. There wait without 30 

Three fellows I ne'er saw before, who much 
Importune their access. They swear' they bring 
Business along with them that deserves your ear, 
It being for the safety of the republic, 
And quiet of the provinces. They are full 
Of gold ; I have felt their bounty. 

Flam. Such are welcome ; 

Give them admittance. [Exit Demetrius.] In this vari- 
ous play 
Of state and policy, there's no property 
But may be useful. 

Re-enter Demetrius, with Chrysalus, Geta, and Syrus 

Now, friends, what design 
Carries you to me ? 

Geta. My most honoured lord — 40 

Syr, May it please your mightiness — 

Flam. Let one speak for all ; 

I cannot brook this discord. 

Chrys. , As our duties 

Command us, noble Roman, having discovered 



324 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act ii 

A dreadful danger, with the nimble wings 
Of speed, approaching to the state of Rome. 
We hold it fit you should have the first notice, 
That you may have the honour to prevent it. 

Flam. I thank you. But instruct me what form 
wears 
The danger that you speak of. 

Chrys. It appears 

In the shape of King Antiochus. n 

Flam. How ! is he 50 

Rose from the dead ? 

Chrys. Alas ! he never died, sir ; 

He at this instant lives. The more the pity 
He should survive, to the disturbance of 
Rome'o close and politic counsels, in the getting 
Possession of his kingdom, which he would 
Recover — simple as he is — the plain 
And downright way of justice. 

Flam. Very likely. 

But how are you assured this is Antiochus, 
And not a counterfeit ? Answer that. 

Chrys. I served him 

In the Achaian war, where, his army routed, 60 

And the warlike Romans hot in their execution, 
To shun their fury he and his minions were — 
Having cast off their glorious armour — forced 
To hide themselves as dead, with fear and horror, 
Among the slaughtered carcasses. I lay by them, 
And rose with them at midnight. Then retiring 
Unto their ships, we sailed to Corinth ; thence 
To India, where he spent many years 
With their gymnosophists." There I waited on him, 
And came thence with him ; but, at length, tired out 70 
With an unrewarded service, and affrighted 
In my imagination with the dangers, 
Or rather certain ruins, in pursuing 
I lis more than desperate fortunes, we forsook him. 



scene i] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 325 

Flam. A wise and politic fellow ! Give me thy hand. 
Thou art sure of this ? 

Chrys. As of my life. 

Flam. And this is 

Known only to you three ? 

Chrys. There's no man lives else 

To witness it. 

Flam. The better. But inform me, 

And, as you would oblige me to you, truly, 
Where did you leave him ? 

Syr. For the payment of 80 

Our long and tedious travel, we made bold 
To rifle him. 

Flam. Good ! 

Geta, And, so disabling him 

Of means to claim his right, we hope despair 
Hath made him hang himself. 

Flam. It had been safer 

If you had done it for him. But, as 'tis, 
You are honest men. You have revealed this secret 
To no man but myself ? 

Chrys. Nor ever will. 

Flam. [Aside.] I will take order that you never shall. — 
And, since you have been true unto the state, 
I'll keep you so. I am e'en now considering 90 

How to advance you. 

Chrys. What a pleasant smile 

His honour throws upon us ! 

Geta. We are made. 

Flam. And now 'tis found out. That no danger 
may 
Come near you, should the robbery be discovered, 
Which the Carthaginian laws, you know, call death, 
My house shall be your sanctuary. 

Syr. There's a favour ! 

Flam. And that our entertainment come not short 
Of your deservings, I commit you to 



326 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act ii 

My secretary's care. — See that they want not, 
Among their other delicates — 

Chrys. Mark that ! ioo 

Flam. [Aside to Demetrius.] A sublimated pill of 
mercury, 
For sugar to their wine. 

Dem. I understand you. 

Flam. Attend these honest men, as if they were 
Made Roman citizens ; and be sure, at night, 
I may see them well-lodged. — [Aside to Demetrius.] 

Dead in the vault, I mean. 
Their gold is thy reward. 

Dem. Believe it done, sir. 

Flam. And when 'tis known how I have recompensed — 
Though you were treacherous to your own king — 
The service done to Rome, I hope that others 
Will follow your example. Enter, friends. no 

I'll so provide that when you next come forth 
You shall not fear who sees you. 

Chrys. Was there ever 

So sweet a tempered Roman ? 

Flam. You shall find it. 

[Exeunt all but Flaminius. 
Ha ! what's the matter ? Do I feel a sting here, 
For what is done to these poor snakes ? My reason 
Will easily remove it. That assures me, 
That, as I am a Roman, to preserve 
And propagate her empire, though they were 
My father's sons, they must not live to witness 
Antiochus is in being. The relation 120 

The villain made, in every circumstance 
Appeared so like to truth, that I began 
To feel an inclination to believe 
What I must have no faith in. By my birth 
[ am hound to serve thee, Rome, and what I do 
Necessity of state compels me to. [Exit. 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 327 

Scene II 
The Senate Hall in Carthage 

Enter Amilcar, Hanno, Asdrubal, Carthalo, 
Senators, and Attendants 

Arnil. To steer a middle course 'twixt these extremes 
Exacts our serious care. 

Han. I know not which way 

I should incline. 

Arnil. The reasons this man urges, 

To prove himself Antiochus, are so pregnant, 
xAnd the attestation of his countrymen 
In every circumstance so punctual, 
As not to show him our compassion were 
A kind of barbarous cruelty. 

Car. Under correction, 

Give me leave to speak my thoughts. We are bound to 

weigh 
Not what we should do in the point of honour, • 10 

Swayed by our pity, but what may be done 
With the safety of the state. 

Asd. Which is, indeed, 

The main consideration ; for, grant 
This is the true Antiochus, without danger, 
Nay, almost certain ruin to ourselves, 
We cannot yield him favour or protection. 

Han. We have feared and felt the Roman power, and 
must 
Expect, if we provoke him, a return 
Not limited to the quality of the offence, 
But left at large to his interpretation, 20 

Which seldom is confined. Who knows not that 
The tribute Rome receives from Asia is 
Her chief supportance ? Other provinces 



328 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act ii 

Hardly defray the charge by which they are 

Kept in subjection. They, in name, perhaps, 

Render the Roman terrible ; but his strength 

And power to do hurt, without question, is 

Derived from Asia. And can we hope, then, 

That such as lend their aids to force it from them 

Will be held for less than capital enemies, 30 

And as such pursued and punished ? 

Car. I could wish 

We were well rid of him. 

Asd. The surest course 

Is to deliver him into the hands 
Of bold Flaminius. 

Han. And so oblige 

Rome, for a matchless benefit. 

Amil. If my power 

Were absolute, as 'tis but titular, 11 
And that confined too, fjeing by you elected 
Prince of the Senate only for a year, 
I would oppose your counsels, and not labour 
With arguments to confute them ; yet, however, 40 

Though a fellow-patriot with you, let it not savour 
Of usurpation, though in my opinion 
I cross your abler judgements. Call, to mind 
Our grandsires' glories — though not seconded 
With a due imitation — and remember 
With what expense of coin, as blood, they did 
Maintain their liberty, and kept the scale 
Of empire even 'twixt Carthage and proud Rome ; 
And, though the Punic faith is branded by 
Our enemies," our confederates and friends 50 

Found it as firm as fate ; and seventeen kings, 
Our feodaries, our strengths upon the sea 
Exceeding theirs, and our land soldiers 
In number far above theirs, though inferior 
In amis and discipline, — to our shame we speak it; 
And then for our cavallery, in the champaign 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 329 

How often have they brake their piles, and routed 
Their coward legions ! 

Han. This, I grant, sir, is not 

To be contradicted. 

A mil. If so, as we find it 

In our records, and that this state hath been 60 

The sanctuary to which mighty kings 
Have fled to for protection, and found it, 
Let it not to posterity be told 
That we so far degenerate from the race 
We are derived as, in a servile fear 
Of the Roman power, in a kind to play the bawds 
To their ravenous lusts, by yielding up a man, 
That wears the shape of our confederate, 
To their devouring gripe, whose strong assurance 
Of our integrity and impartial doom 70 

Hath made this seat his altar. 

Car. I join with you 

In this opinion, but no farther than 
It may be done with safety. 

Asd. In his ruins 

To bury ourselves, you needs must grant to be 
An inconsiderate pity, no way suiting 
With a wise man's reason. 

Car. Let us face to face 

Hear the accuser and accused, and then, 
As either's arguments work on us, determine 
As the respect of our security 
Or honour shall invite us. 

Arnil. [To an Attendant.] From the Senate, 80 

Entreat the Roman, Titus Flaminius, 
To assist us with his counsel. 

Han. And let the prisoner 

Be brought into the court. [Exit Attendant. 

Amil. The gods of Carthage 

Direct us to the right way ! 



330 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act ii 

Enter Flaminius 

Asd. With what gravity 

He does approach us ! 

Car. As he would command, 

Not argue his desires. 

Amil. May it please your lordship 

To take your place ? 

Flam. In civil courtesy, 

As I am Titus Flaminius, I may thank you ; 
But, sitting here as Rome's ambassador — 
In which you are honoured — to instruct you in 90 

Her will — which you are bound to serve, not argue — 
I must not borrow — that were poor — but take, 
As a tribute due to her that's justly styled 
The mistress of this earthly globe, the boldness 
To reprehend your slow progression in 
Doing her greatness right. That she believes, 
In me, that this impostor was suborned 
By the conquered Asiatics, in their hopes 
Of future liberty, to ursurp the name 
Of dead Antiochus, should satisfy 100 

Your scrupulous doubts ; all proofs beyond this being 
Merely superfluous. 

Car. My lord, my lord, 

You trench too much upon us. 

Asd. We are not 

Led by an implicit faith. 

II an. Nor, though we would 

Preserve Rome's amity, must not yield up 
The freedom of our wills and judgements to 
Quit or condemn as we shall be appointed 
By her imperious pleasure. 

( 'ar. We confess not, 

Nor ever will, she hath a power above us. 
Carthage is still her equal. 

Amil. If you can no 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 33 1 

Prove this man an impostor, he shall suffer 
As he deserves ; if not, you shall perceive 
You have no empire here. 

Han. Call in the prisoner ; 

Then, as you please, confront him. 

Flam. This neglect 

Hereafter will be thought on. 

Arnil. We shall stand 

The danger howsoever. When we did, 
His cause unheard, at your request commit 
This king or this impostor, you received 
More favour than we owed you. 

Officer. [Within.] Room for the prisoner. 

Enter Antiochus, habited like a king, Berecinthius, 
the three Merchants, and a Guard 

Ant. This shape that you have put me in suits ill 120 
With the late austereness of my life. 

Bere. Fair gloss 

Wrongs not the richest stuff, but sets it off ; 
And let your language, high and stately, speak you, 
As you were born, a king. 

Ant. Health to the Senate ! 

We do suppose your duties done ; sit still. 
Titus Flaminius, we remember you. 
As you are a public minister from Rome 
You may sit covered. 

Flam. How ! 

Ant. But as we are 

A potent king, in whose court you have waited 
And sought our favour, you betray your pride, 130 

And the more than saucy rudeness of your manners. 
A bended knee, remembering what we are, 
Much better would become you. 

Flam. Ha ! 

Ant. We said it; 



332 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act ii 

But fall from our own height to hold discourse 
With a thing so far beneath us. 

Bere. Admirable ! 

Amil. The Roman looks as he had seen the wolf. n 
How his confidence awes him ! 

Asd. Be he what he will, 

He bears himself like a king ; and I must tell you 
I am amazed too. 

Ant. Are we so transformed 

From what we were, since our disaster in 140 

The Grecian enterprise, that you gaze upon us 
As some strange prodigy ne'er seen in Afric? 
Antiochus speaks to you, the King Antiochus, 
And challenges a retribution in 
His entertainment of the love and favours 
Extended to you. Call to memory 
Your true friend and confederate, who refused 
In his respect to you the proffered amity 
Of the Roman people. Hath this vile enchanter 
Environed me with such thick clouds in your 150 

Erroneous belief, from his report 
That I was long since dead, that, being present, 
The beams of majesty cannot break through 
The foggy mists raised by his wicked charms, 
To lend you light to know me ? I cite you, 
My lord Amilcar — now I look on you 
As prince of the Senate, but, when you were less, 
I have seen you in my court, assisted by 
Grave Hanno, Asdrubal, and Carthalo, 
The pillars of the Carthaginian greatness. 11 160 

I know you all. Antiochus ne'er deserved 
To be thus slighted. 

A mil. Not so ; we in you 

Look on the figure of the King Antiochus, 
But, without stronger proofs than yet you have 
Produced to make us think so, cannot hear you 
Hut as a man suspected. 



scene ii] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 333 

Ant. Of what guilt ? 

Flam. Of subornation and imposture. 

Ant. Silence 

This fellow's saucy tongue. O majesty ! 
How soon a short eclipse hath made thy splendour, 
As it had never shined on these, forgotten ! 170 

But you refuse to hear me as a king ; 
Deny not yet, in justice, what you grant 
To common men, — free liberty without 
His interruption — having heard what he 
Objects against me — to acquit himself 
Of that which, in his malice, I am charged with. 

Amil. You have it. 

Ant. As my present fortune wills me, 

I thank your goodness. Rise, thou cursed agent 
Of mischief, and accumulate in one heap 
All engines by the devil thy tutor fashioned 180 

To ruin innocence ; in poison steep 
Thy bloodied tongue, and let thy words, as full 
Of bitterness as malice, labour to 
Seduce these noble hearers. Make me, in 
Thy coined accusation, guilty of 
Such crimes whose names my innocence ne'er knew, 
I'll stand the charge ; and when that thou hast shot 
All arrows in thy quiver, feathered with 
Slanders, and aimed with cruelty, in vain, 
My truth, though yet concealed, the mountains of igo 
Thy glossed fictions in her strength removed, 
Shall in a glorious shape appear, and show 
Thy painted mistress, Falsehood, when stripped bare 
Of borrowed and adulterate colours, in 
Her own shape and deformity. 

Bere. I am ravished ! 

1st Mer. O more than royal sir ! 

Amil. Forbear. 

2nd Mer. The monster 

Prepares to speak. 



334 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act ii 

Bere. And still that villainous smile 

Ushers his following mischiefs. 

Flam. Since the assurance, 

From one of my place, quality, and rank, 
Is not sufficient with you to suppress 200 

This bold seductor, to acquit our state 
From the least tyrannous imputation, 
I will forget awhile I am a Roman, 
Whose arguments are warranted by his sword, 
And not filed from his tongue. This creature here, 
That styles himself Antiochus, I know 
For an apostata Jew, though others say 
He is a cheating Greek called Pseudolus, 
And keeps a whore in Corinth. But I'll come 
To real proofs ; reports and rumours being 210 

Subjects unsuitable with my gravity 
To speak, or yours to hear. 'Tis most apparent 
The King Antiochus was slain in Greece ; 
His body, at his subjects' suit, delivered ; 
His ashes from the funeral pile raked up, 
And in a golden urn preserved, and kept 
In the royal monument of the Asian kings, — 
Such was the clemency of Marcus Scaurus, 
The Roman conqueror, whose triumph was 
Graced only with his statue. But suppose 220 

He had survived — which is impossible — 
Can it fall in the compass of your reason 
That this impostor — if he were the man 
Which he with impudence affirms he is — 
Would have wandered two and twenty tedious years 
Like a vagabond o'er the world, and not have tried 
Rome's mercy as a suppliant? 

1 1 an. Shrewd suspicions. 

Flam. A mason of Callipolis," heretofore, 
Presumed as far, and was, like this impostor, 
By slavish Asians followed ; and a second, 230 

A Cretan of a base condition, did 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 335 

Maintain the like. All ages have been furnished 

With such as have usurped upon the names 

And persons of dead princes. Is it not 

As evident as the day this wretch, instructed 

By these poor Asians — sworn enemies 

To the majesty of Rome — but personates 

The dead Antiochus, hired to it by these 

To stir up a rebellion, which they call 

Delivery or restoring ? And will you, 240 

Who, for your wisdom, are esteemed the sages 

And oracles of Afric, meddle in 

The affairs of this affronter, which no monarch 

Less rash and giddy than Antiochus was 

Would undertake ? 

Ant. Would I were dead indeed, 

Rather than hear this, living ! 

Flam. I confess 

He hath some marks of King Antiochus, but 
The most of them artificial. Then observe 
W T hat kind of men they are that do abet him : 
Proscribed and banished persons ; the ringleader 250 

Of this seditious troop a turbulent flamen, 
Grown fat with idleness — 

Bere. That's I. 

Flam. And puffed up 

With the wind of his ambition. 

Bere. With reverence to 

This place, thou liest. I am grown to this bulk 
By being libbed n . . . . . 



Amil. Ay, thank your goddess. She 
Defends you from a whipping. 

Han. Take him off ; 

He does disturb the court. 

Bere. I shall find a place yet 

Where I will roar my wrongs out. 

[Exeunt Officers with Berecinthius. 



336 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act it 

Flam, As you have, 260 

In the removing of that violent fool, 
Given me a taste of your severity, 
Make it a feast, and perfect your great justice 
In the surrendering up this false pretender 
To the correction of the law, and let him 
Undergo the same punishment which others 
Have justly suffered that preceded him 
In the sajne machination. 

Ant. As you wish 

A noble memory to after times, 

Reserve one ear for my defence, and let not — 270 

For your own wisdoms let not — that belief 
This subtle fiend would plant be rooted in you 
Till you have heard me. Would you know the truth, 
And real cause, why poor Antiochus hath 
So long concealed himself ? Though in the opening 
A wound, in some degree by time closed up, 
I shall pour scalding oil and sulphur n in it, 
I will, in the relation of my 
To be lamented story, punctually 

Confute my false accuser. Pray you conceive, 280 

As far as your compassion will permit, 
How great the grief and agony of my soul was, 
When I considered that the violence 
Of my ill-reined ambition had made Greece 
The fatal sepulchre of so many thousands 
Of brave and able men, that might have stood 
In opposition for the defence 
Of mine own kingdom, and a ready aid 
For my confederates ; after which rout, 
And my retreat in a disguise to Athens, 290 

The shame of this disgrace, though I then had 
The forehead of this man, would have deterred me 
From being ever seen where I was known; 
And such was then my resolution. 

Amil. This granted, whither went you ? 



scene ii] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 337 

Ant. As a punishment 

Imposed upon myself, and equal to 
My wilful folly, giving o'er the world, 
I went into a desert. 

Flam. [Aside.] This agrees 

With the dead slaves' report ; but I must contemn it. 

Amil. What drew you from that austere life ? 

Asd. Clear that. 

Ant. The counsel of a grave philosopher 301 

Wrought on me to make known myself the man 
That I was born ; and, of all potentates 
In Afric, to determine of the truth 
Of my life and condition, I preferred 
The commonwealth of Carthage. 

Flam. As the fittest 

To be abused. 

Ant. This is not fair. 

Amil. My lord, 

If not entreat, I must command your silence, 
Or absence, which you please. • 

Flam. So peremptory ! 

Ant. To vindicate myself from all suspicion 310 

Of forgery and imposture, in this scroll, 
Writ with my royal hand, you may peruse 
A true memorial of all circumstances, 
Answers, dispatches, doubts, and difficulties 
Between myself and your ambassadors, 
Sent to negotiate with me. 

Amil. Fetch the records. [Exit Attendant. 

Ant. J Tis my desire you should. Truth seeks the 
light; 
And, when you have compared them, if you find them 
In any point of moment differing, 

Re-enter Attendant with the Book of Records 

Conclude me such a one as this false man 320 

Presents me to you. But, if you perceive 



338 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 



[act II 



Those private passages, in my cabinet argued, 
And, but to your ambassadors and myself, 
Concealed from all men, in each point agreeing, 
Judge if a cheating Greek, a Pseudolus, 
Or an apostata Jew, could e'er arrive at 
Such deep and weighty secrets. 

Han. To a syllable 

They are the same. 

A mil. It cannot be but this is 

The true Antiochus. n 

Flam. A magician rather, 

And hath the spirit of Python. n 

Car. These are toys. 330 

Ant. You see he will omit no trifle, that 
His malice can lay hold of, to divert 
Your love and favour to me. Now for my death, 
The firmest base on which he builds the strength 
Of his assertions, if you please to weigh it 
With your accustomed wisdom, you'll perceive 
'Tis merely fabulous. Had they meant fairly, 
And, as a truth, would have it so confirmed 
To the doubtful Asians, why did they not 
Suffer the carcass they affirmed was mine 340 

To be viewed by such men as were interessed 
In the great cause, that were bred up with me, 
And were familiar with the marks I carried 
Upon my body, and not rely n upon 
Poor prisoners taken in the war, from whom, 
In hope of liberty and reward, they drew 
Such depositions as they knew would make 
For their dark ends? Was anything more easy 
Than to suppose a body, and, that placed on 
A solemn hearse, with funeral pomp to inter it 350 

In a rich monument, and then proclaim 

is the body of Antiochus, 
King of the Lower Asia" ? 

Flam, Rome's honour 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 339 

Is taxed in this of practice and corruption : 

I'll hear no more. In your determinations, 

Consider what it is to hold and keep her 

Your friend or enemy. [Exit. 

Amil. We wish we could 

Receive you as a king, since your relation 
Hath wrought so much upon us that we do 
Incline to that belief. But, since we cannot 360 

As such protect you but with certain danger, 
Until you are by other potent nations 
Proclaimed for such, our fitting caution 
Cannot be censured, though we do entreat 
You would elsewhere seek justice. 

Ant. Where, when 'tis 

Frighted from you by power ? 

Amil. And yet take comfort. 

Not all the threats of Rome shall force us to 
Deliver you. The short time that you stay 
In Carthage 11 you are safe; no more a prisoner. 
You are enlarged. With full security 370 

Cofisult of your affairs. In what we may 
We are your friends. — Break up the court. 

[Exeunt all but Antiochus and the three Merchants. 

1st Mer. Dear sir, 

Take courage in your liberty ; the world 
Lies open to you. 

2nd Mer. We shall meet with comfort 

When most despaired of by us. 

Ant. Never, never ! 

Poor men, though fallen, may rise ; but kings like me, 
If once by fortune slaved, are ne'er set free. [Exeunt. 






ACT THE THIRD 

Scene I 

Carthage. A Room in the House of Flaminius 

Enter Flaminius (with two letters), Calistus, and 
Demetrius 

Flam. You gave him store of gold with the instructions 
That I prescribed him ? 

Cal. Yes, my lord, and, on 

The forfeiture of my credit with your honour, 
Titus will do his parts, and dive into 
Their deepest secrets. 

Flam. Men of place pay dear • 

For their intelligence ; it eats out the profit 
Of their employment. But, in a design 
Of such weight, prodigality is a virtue. 
The fellow was of trust that you dispatched 
To Rome with the packets ? 

Bern. Yes, sir ; he flies, not rides. 

By this, if his access answer his care, n 

He is upon return. 

Flam. I am on the stage, 

And if now, in the scene imposed upon me, 
So full of change — nay, a mere labyrinth 
Of politic windings — I show not myself 
A Protean actor, varying every shape 
With the occasion, it will hardly poise 
The expectation. I'll so place my nets 
That, it" this bird want wings to carry him 

34° 



scene i] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 341 

At one flight out of Afric, n I shall catch him. 20 

Calistus ! 

Cal. Sir. 

Flam. Give these at Syracusa 

To the proconsul Marcellus. n Let another post 
To Sardinia with these. — You have the picture 
Of the impostor ? 

Bern. Drawn to the life, my lord. 

Flam. Take it along with you. I have commanded, 
In the Senate's name, that they man out their galleys, 
And not to let one vessel pass without 
A strict examination ; the sea 

Shall not protect him from me. I have charged too 
The garrisons, that keep the passages 30 

By land, to let none scape that come from Carthage, 
Without a curious search. [Exit Calistus. 

Enter Lentulus 

Len. [Speaking to one within.] I will excuse 
My visit without preparation ; fear not. 

Flam. Who have we here ? 

Len. When you have viewed me better 

You will resolve yourself. 

Flam. My good lord Lentulus ! 

Len. You name me right. The speed that brought me 
hither 
As you see accoutred, and without a train 
Suitable to my rank, may tell your lordship 
That the design admits no vacant time 
For compliment. Your advertisements have been read 
In open court ; the consuls and the Senate 41 

Are full of wonder and astonishment 
At the relation ; your care is much 
I Commended, and will find a due reward, 
] When what you have so well begun is ended. 
In the meantime, with their particular thanks 



342 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act in 

They thus salute you. [Tenders a letter.] You shall find 

there that — 
Their good opinion of me far above 
My hopes or merits — they have appointed me 
Your successor in Carthage, and commit s 

Unto your abler trust the prosecution 
Of this impostor. 

Flam. As their creature ever 

I shall obey and serve them. I will leave 
My freedman to instruct you in the course 
Of my proceedings. You shall find him able 
And faithful, on my honour. 

Lett. I receive him 

At his due value. Can you guess yet whither 
This creature tends ? By some passengers I met 
I was told, howe'er the state denies to yield him 
To our dispose, they will not yet incense us 
By giving him protection. 

Flam. Ere long, 

I hope I shall resolve you. — To my wish ! 

Enter Titus 

Here comes my true discoverer. Be brief, 
And labour not with circumstance to endear 
The service thou hast done me. 

Tit. As your lordship 

Commanded me, in this Carthaginian habit 
I made my first approaches, and delivered 
The gold was given me as a private present 
Sent, from the lord Amilcar for his viaticum 
To another country; for I did pretend ^Bj 

I was his menial servant. 

Flaw. Very well. 

Tit. Twas entertained almost with sacrifice, 
And I, as one most welcome, was admitted 
Into their turbulent counsel. Many means 



scene i] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 343 

Were there propounded, whither, and to whom, 

Their King Antiochus — for so they style him — 

Should fly for safety. One urged to the Parthian, 

A second into Egypt, and a third 

To the Batavian ; n but, in conclusion, 

The corpulent flamen, that would govern all, 80 

And in his nature would not give allowance 

To any proposition that was not 

The child of his own brain, resolved to carry 

Their May-game prince, covered with a disguise, 

To Prusias n King of Bithynia. His opinion 

Carried it ; and thither, without pause or stay, 

To thank my lord for his bounty, they are gone, 

Upon my certain knowledge, for I rid 

Two days and nights along, that I might not build 

Upon suppositions. By this they are 90 

At their journey's end. 

Flam. With my thanks, there's thy reward. 

[Giving money. 
I will take little rest until I have 
Soured his sweet entertainment. — You have been 
In the court of this Prusias. Of what temper is he ? 

Len. A well-disposed and noble gentleman, 
And very careful to preserve the peace 
And quiet of his subjects. 

Flam. I shall find him 

The apter to be wrought on. Do you know who is 
His special favourite ? 

Len. One that was his tutor, 

A seeming politician, and talks often. 100 

The end of his ambition is to be 
A gentleman of Rome. 

Flam. I shall fit him, fear not. 

Your travel's ended. Mine begins, and therefore 
I w r ill take my leave. 
Formality of manners now is useless ; 
I long to be a-horseback. 



344 



BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act hi 



L en . You have my wishes 

For a fair success. 

Flam. My care shall not be wanting. [Exeunt. 

Scene II 

Bithynia. Before the Palace 

Enter Antiochus and the three Merchants 

ist Mer. This tedious journey, from your majesty's 
Long discontinuance of riding hard, 
With weariness hath dulled your spirits. 

2nd Mer. The flamen, 

His corpulency considered, hath held out 
Beyond imagination. 

3rd Mer. As often 

As he rode down a hill I did expect 
The chining of his fork. n 

Ant. I wonder more 

How mine sustained his burden, since the weight 
That sits on my more heavy heart would crack 
The sinews of an elephant. 

2nd Mer. 'Tis said *« 

That beast hath strength to carry six armed men 
In a turret on his back. 

Ant. True ; but the sorrow 

Of a wretched and forsaken king like me 
Is far more ponderous. 

ist Mer. O, part not, sir, 

From your own strength by yielding to despair. 
I am most confident Berecinthius will, 
From the great King Prusias — in his goodness great — 
Bring comfort to you. 

Ant. I am prepared, however. 

[Flourish. 

Lower I cannot fall. 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 345 

3rd Mer. Ha ! these are signs 

Of a glorious entertainment, not contempt ! 

Enter Berecinthius 

Bere. Bear up, sir. I have done you simple service; 
I thank my eloquence and boldness for it. 
When would a modest silent fool effect 
What I have done ? But such men are not born 
For great employments. The fox that would confer 
With a lion without fear must see him often. 
O for a dozen of rubbers and a bath ! 
And yet I need no tub, since I drench myself 
In mine own balsam. 

1st Mer. Balsamum ! It smells 

Like a tallow-chandler's shop. 

Bere. Does it so ? Thou thin-gut ! 

Thou thing without moisture ! But I have no time 31 
To answer thee. The great king — by my means, sir, 
Ever remember that — in his own person, 
With his fair consort and a gallant train, [Flourish. 

Are come to entertain you. 

Ant. Jove ! If thou art 

Pleased that it shall be so — 

Bere. Change not you Jove's purpose 

In your slowness to receive it. In your carriage 
Express yourself. They come. 

Enter Prusias, his Queen, Philoxenus, and Attendants 

Pru. The strong assurance 

You gave at Carthage to confirm you are 
The King Antiochus — for so much from 40 

My agent there I have heard — commands me to 
Believe you are so ; and however they, 
Awed by the Roman greatness, durst not lend you 
Aid or protection, in me you shall find 



346 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act hi 

A surer guard. I stand on mine own bases, 
Nor shall or threats or prayers deter me from 
Doing a good deed in itself rewarded. 
You are welcome to my bosom. 

Ant. All that yet 

I can return you, sir, is thanks, expressed 
In tears of joy, to find here that compassion 50 

Hath not forsook the earth. 

Queen. Alas, good king, 

I pity him ! 

Pru. This ^dy, sir, your servant, 

Presents her duty to you. 

Ant. Pray you forgive me. 

Calamity, my too long rude companion, 
Hath taught me, gracious madam, to forget 
Civility and manners. [Kisses Iter. 

Queen. [Aside.] I ne'er touched 

But the king my husband's lips, and, as I live, 
He kisses very like him. 

Pru. Here is one 

I dare present to you for a knowing man 
In politic designs. But he is present, 60 

I should say more else. 

Ant. Your assistance, sir, 

To raise a trod-down king will well become you. 

Phi. What man can do that is familiar with 
The deep directions of Xenophon, 11 
Or Aristotle's politics, besides 
Mine own collections, which some prefer, 
And with good reason, as they say, before them, 
Your highness may expect. 

Pru. We will at leisure 

Consider of the manner and the means 
How to restore you to your own. 

Queen. And till then 70 

Suppose yourself in your own court. 

Ant. The gods 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 347 

Be sureties for the payment of this debt 

I stand engaged ! Your bounties overwhelm me. 

[Flourish. Exeunt all but Berecinthius and the 
Merchants. 

Bere. Ay, marry, this is as it should be ! Ha ! 
After these storms raised by this Roman devil, 
Titus Flaminius — you know whom I mean — 
Are we got into the port once. I must purge. 

1st Mer. Not without cause. 

Bere, Or my increasing belly 

Will metamorphose me into the shape 
Of a great tortoise, and I shall appear 80 

A cipher, a round man, or what you will. 
Now jeer at my bulk, and spare not. 

1st Mer. You are pleasant. 

Bere. Farce thy lean ribs with hope, and thou wilt 
grow to 
Another kind of creature. When our king is 
Restored, let me consider, as he must be, 
And I the principal means, I'll first grow rich, 
Infinite rich, and build a strange new temple 
To the goddess that I worship, and so bind her 
To prosper all my purposes. 

2nd Mer. Be not rapt so. 

Bere. Prithee, do not trouble me. First I will expel 
The Romans out of Asia ; and, so breaking 91 

Their reputation in the world, we will 
Renew our league with Carthage ; then draw to 
Our party the Egyptian Ptolemy, 
And great Arsaces' issue. 11 I will be 
: The general, and march to Rome, which taken, 
I'll fill proud Tiber with the carcasses 
Of men, women, and children. Do not persuade me ; 
I'll show no mercy. 

yd Mer. Have the power to hurt first. 

Bere. Then by the senators, whom I'll use as horses, 
I will be drawn in a chariot, made for my bulk, 101 



348 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act hi 

In triumph to the Capitol, more admired 

Than Bacchus was in India. n Titus Flaminius, 

Our enemy, led like a dog in a chain, 

As I descend or reascend in state, 

Shall serve for my footstool. I will conjure him, 

If revenge hath any spells. 

Enter Flaminius and Demetrius 

Flam. Command the captain 

To wait me with his galley at the next port. 
I am confident I shall fraught him. [Exit Demetrius. 

ist Mer. You are conjuring, 

And see what you have raised. 

Bere. Cybele save me ! no 

I do not fear thee, Pluto, D though thou hast 
Assumed a shape not to be matched in Cocytus ! n 
Why dost thou follow me ? 

Flam. Art thou mad ? 

Bere. Thou comest 

To make me so. How my jelly quakes ! Avaunt ! 
What have I to do with thee ? 

Flam. You shall know at leisure ; 

The time is now too precious. [Exit. 

Bere. 'Tis vanished. 

Sure, 'twas an apparition. 

ist Mer. I fear 

A fatal one to us. 

2nd Mer. We may easily guess at 

The cause that brings him hither. 

jrd Mer. Now, if ever, 

Confirm the king. 

ist Mer. Against this battery 120 

New works are to be raised, or we are ruined. 

Bere. What think you of this rampire?" 'twill hold 
out ; 
And he shall shoot through and through it but I'll cross 
him. [Exeunt. ! 



scene in] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 349 

Scene III 

Bithynia. An Apartment in the Palace 

Enter Flaminius and Philoxenus 

Flam. What we have said the consuls will make good, 
And the glad Senate ratify. 

Phi. They have so 

Obliged me for this favour, that there is not 
A service of that difficulty from which 
I would decline. In this rest confident, 
I am your own, and sure. 

Flam. You shall do, sir, 

A noble office in it ; and, however 
We thank you for the courtesy, the profit 
And certain honours, the world's terror, Rome, 
In thankfulness cannot but shower upon you, 10 

Are wholly yours. How happy I esteem 
Myself, in this employment, to meet with 
A wise and provident statesman ! 

Phi. My good lord ! 

Flam. I flatter not in speaking truth. You are so, 
And, in this prompt alacrity, confirm it. 
Since a wise forecast in the managing 
Worldly affairs is the true wisdom, rashness, 
The schoolmistress of idiots. You well know 
Charity begins at home, and that we are 
Nearest unto ourselves. Fools build upon 20 

Imaginary hopes, but wise men ever 
On real certainties. A tender conscience, 
Like a glow-worm, shows a seeming fire in darkness, 
But, set near to the glorious light of honour, 
It is invisible. As you are a statesman, 
And a master in that art, you must remove 
All rubs, though with a little wrong sometimes, 



350 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act in 

That may put by the bias of your counsels n 
From the fair mark they aim at. 

Phi. You are read well 

In worldly passages. 

Flam. I barter with you 30 

Such trifles as I have. But, if you pleased, 
You could instruct me that philosophy 
And policy in states are not such strangers 
As men o'er-curious and precise would have them. 
But to the point. With speed get me access 
To the king your pupil ; and 'tis well for him 
That he hath such a tutor. Rich Bithynia 
Was never so indebted to a patriot 
And vigilant watchman, for her peace and safety, 
As to yourself. 

Phi. Without boast I may whisper 40 

I have done something that way. 

Flam. All in all ; 

Fame, filling her loud trump with truth, proclaims it. 
But, when it shall be understood you are 
The principal means by which a dangerous serpent, 
Warmed in your sovereign's bosom, is delivered 
To have his sting and venomous teeth pulled out, 
And the ruin, in a willing grant, avoided, 
Which in detaining him falls on the kingdom, 
Not Prusias alone, but his saved people, 
Will raise your providence altars. 

Phi. Let me entreat 50 

Your patience some few minutes. I'll bring the king 
In person to you. 

Flam. Do, and, this effected, 

Think of the ring you are privileged to wear 
When a Roman gentleman ; and, after that, 
Of provinces and purple. [Exit Philoxenus.] I must 

smile now 
In my consideration with what glibnesS 
My flatteries, oiled with hopes of future greatness, 



scene in] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 35 1 

Are swallowed by this dull pate. But it is not 

Worth the observation. Most of our seeming statesmen 

Are caught in the same noose. 

Enter Prusias and Philoxenus 

Returned so soon ! 60 
And the king with him ! But his angry forehead 
Furrowed with frowns. No matter, I am for him. 

Pru. From the people of Rome ? So quick ? Hath 
he brought with him 
Letters of credence, 11 and authority 
To treat with us ? 

Phi. I read them. 

Pru. What can he 

Propound which I must fear to hear ? I would 
Continue in fair terms with that warlike nation, 
Ever provided I wrong not myself 
In the least point of honour. 

Phi. To the full 

He will instruct your majesty. 

Flam. So may 70 

Felicity, as a page, attend your person, 
As you embrace the friendly counsel sent you 
From the Roman Senate ! 

Pru. With my thanks to you 

Their instrument, if the advice be such 
As by this preparation you would have me 
Conceive it is, I shall, and 'twill become me, 
Receive it as a favour. 

Flam. Know T then, Rome, 

In her pious care that you may still increase 
The happiness you live in, and your subjects, 
Under the shadow of their own vines, eat 80 

The fruit they yield them, their soft musical feasts 
Continuing, as they do yet, unafrrighted 
With the harsh noise of war, entreats as low 



352 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act hi 

As her known power and majesty can descend 
You would return, with due equality, 
A willingness to preserve what she hath conquered 
From change and innovation. 

Pru. I attempt not 

To trouble her, nor ever will. 

Flam. Fix there ; 

Or if, for your own good, you will move farther, 
Make Rome your thankful debtor by surrendering go 
Into her hands the false impostor that 
Seeks to disturb her quiet. 

Pru. This I looked for, 

And that I should find mortal poison wrapped up 
In your candied pills. Must I, because you say so, 
Believe that this most miserable king is 
A false affronter, who, with arguments 
Unanswerable, and near miraculous proofs, 
Confirms himself the true Antiochus ? 
Or is it not sufficient that you Romans, 
In your unsatisfied ambition, have ioo 

Seized with an unjust gripe on half the world, 
Which you call conquest, if that I consent not 
To have my innocence soiled with that pollution 
You are willingly smeared o'er with ? 

Flam. Pray you, hear me. 

Pru. I will be first heard. Shall I, for your ends, 
Infringe my princely word, or break the laws 
Of hospitality ; defeat myself 
Of the certain honour to restore a king 
Unto his own, and what you Romans have 
Extorted and keep from him ? Far be it from me ! no 
I will not buy your amity at such loss. 
So it be to all after times remembered 
I held it not sufficient to live 
As one born only for myself, and I 
Desire no other monument. 

Flam, I grant 



scene in] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 353 

It is a specious thing to leave behind us 

A fair report, though in the other world 

We have no feeling of it ; and to lend 

A desperate, though fruitless, aid to such 

As Fate, not to be altered^ hath marked out 120 

Examples of calamity, may appear 

A glorious ornament. But here's a man, 

The oracle of your kingdom, that can tell you, 

When there's no probability it may be 

Effected, 'tis mere madness to attempt it. 

Phi. A true position. 

Flam. Your inclination 

Is honourable, but your power deficient 
To put your purposes into act. 

Pru. My power ? 

Flam. Is not to be disputed, if weighed truly 
With the petty kings your neighbours; but, when 

balanced 130 

With the globes and sceptres of my mistress Rome, 
Will — but I spare comparisons. But you build on 
Your strength to justify the fact. Alas ! 
It is a feeble reed, and leaning on it, 
Will wound your hand much sooner than support you. 
You keep in pay, 'tis true, some peace-trained troops, 
Which awe your neighbours ; but consider, when 
Our eagles shall display their sail-stretched wings, 
Hovering o'er our legions, what defence 
Can you expect from yours ? 

Phi. Urge that point home. 140 

Flam. Our old victorious bands are ever ready, 
And such as are not our confederates tremble 
To think where next the storm shall fall with horror. • 
Philoxenus knows it. Will you, to help one 
You should contemn, and is not worth your pity, 
Pull it on your own head ? Your neighbour Carthage 
Would smile to see your error. Let me paint 
The danger to you ere it come. Imagine 



354 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act hi 

Our legions, and the auxiliary forces 

Of such as are our friends and tributaries, 150 

Drawn up ; Bithynia covered with our armies ; 

All places promising defence blocked up 

With our armed troops ; the siege continuing ; 

Famine within and force without disabling 

All opposition ; then, the army entered, 

As victory is insolent, the rapes 

Of virgins and grave matrons, reverend old men 

With their last groans accusing you ; your city 

And palace sacked — 

Phi. Dear sir ! 

Flam. And you yourself 

Captived, and, after that, chained by the neck ; 160 

Your matchless queen, your children, officers, friends, 
Waiting, as scorns of fortune, to give lustre 
To the victor's triumph. 

Phi. I am in a fever 

To think upon't. 

Flam. As a friend I have delivered, 

And more than my commission warrants me, 
This caution to you. But now, peace or war ? 
If the first, I entertain it ; if the latter, 
I'll instantly defy you. 

Phi. Pray you say peace, sir. 

Pru. On what conditions ? 

Flam. The delivery 

Of this seductor and his complices ; 170 

On no terms else, and suddenly. 

Pru. How can I 

Dispense with my faith given? 

riii. I'll yield you reasons. 

Pru, Let it be peace then — oh! Pray you call in 

[Exit PlIILOXENUS, 
The wretched man. In the meantime Til consider 
How to excuse myself. 

Flam, [Aside*] While I, in silence, 






scene in] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 355 

Triumph in my success, and meditate 
On the reward that crowns it, A strong army 
Could have done no more than I alone, and with 
A little breath, have effected. 

Enter Queen, Antiochus, Berecinthius, the three Mer- 
chants, Philoxentjs, Demetrius, and Attendants 

Ant. Goodness guard me ! 

Whom do I look on ? Sir, come further from him. 180 
He is infectious ; so swollen w T ith mischiefs 
And strange impieties, his language too 
So full of siren sorceries, if you hear him 
There is no touch of moral honesty, 
Though rampired in your soul, but will fly from you. 
The mandrake's shrieks, 11 the aspic's deadly tooth, 
The tears of crocodiles, or the basilisk's eye 
Kill not so soon, nor with that violence, 
As he, who ; in his cruel nature, holds 
Antipathy with mercy. 

Pru. I am sorry — 190 

Ant. Sorry ! for what ? That you had an intent 
To be a good and just prince ? Are compassion 
And charity grown crimes ? 

Pru. The gods can witness 

How much I would do for you ; and but that 
; Necessity of state 

Ant. Make not the gods 

Guilty of your breach of faith ! From them you find 

not 
Treachery commanded ; and the state, that seeks 
Strength from disloyalty, in the quicksands which 
She trusteth in is swallowed. 'Tis in vain 
To argue with you. If I am condemned, 200 

Defences come too late. What do you purpose 
Shall fall on poor Antiochus ? 

Pru. For my 



356 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act hi 

Security — there being no means left else — 
Against my will I must deliver you. 

Ant. To whom? 

Enter Guard 

Pru. To Rome's ambassador. 

Ant. O, the Furies ! 

Exceed not him in cruelty ! Remember 
I am a king, your royal guest ; your right hand 
The pawn and pledge that should defend me from 
My bloody enemy. Did you accuse 
The Carthaginian Senate for denying 210 

Aid and protection to me, giving hope 
To my despairing fortunes ; or but now 
Raise me to make my fall more terrible ? 
Did you tax them of n weakness, and will you 
So far transcend them in a coward fear, 
Declaimed against by your own mouth ? O sir, 
If you dare not give me harbour, set me safe yet 
In any desert, where this serpent's hisses 
May not be heard ; and to the gods I'll speak you 
A prince both wise and honourable. 

Pru. Alas ! 

It is not in my power. 

Ant. As an impostor 

Take off my head then ; at the least, so far 
Prove merciful ; or with any torture ease me 
Of the burthen of a life, rather than yield me 
To this politic state hangman. 

Flam. [Aside.] This to me is 

A kind of ravishing music. 

Queen. I have lived 

For many years, sir, your obedient handmaid, 
Nor ever in a syllable presumed 
To (toss your purposes. But now, with a sorrow 
As ^reat almost as this poor king's, beholding 
Your poverty of spirit — for it does 



scene in] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 357 

Deserve no better name — I must put off 
Obsequiousness and silence, and take to me 
The warrant and authority of your queen, 
And as such give you counsel. 

Pru. You displease me. 

Queen. The physic promising health is ever bitter. 
Hear me. Will you that are a man — nay more, 
A king of men — do that, forced to it by fear, 
Which common men would scorn ? I am a woman — 
A weak and feeble woman — yet before 240 

I would deliver up my bondwoman, 
And have it told I did it by constraint, 
I would endure to have these hands cut off, 
These eyes n pulled out — 

Pru. I'll hear no more. 

Queen. Do you, then, 

As a king should. 

Pru. Away with her ! 

[They bear off the Queen. 

Flam. My affairs 

Exact a quick dispatch. 

Pru. He's yours. Conceive 

What I woma say. Farewell. 

[Exeunt Prusias and Philoxenus. 

Ant. That I had been 

Born dumb ! I will not grace thy triumph, tyrant, 
With one request of favour. 11 [Exit Antiochus guarded. 

Bere, My good lord ! 249 

Flam. Your will, dear flamen ? 

Bere. I perceive you are like 

To draw a great charge upon you. My fat bulk, 
And these my lions, n will not be kept for a little, 
Nor wxmld we be chargeable ; and, therefore, kissing 
Your honoured hands, I take my leave. 

Flam. By no means ; 

I have been busy, but I shall find leisure 
To treat with you in another place. 



358 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act hi 

Bere. I would not 

Put your lordship to the trouble. 

Flam. It will be 

A pleasure rather. — Bring them all away. 

Bere. The comfort is, whether I drown or hang 
I shall not be long about it. I'll preserve 260 

The dignity of my family. 

Flam. 'Twill become you. [Exeunt. 



ACT THE FOURTH 
Scene I 
Callipolis. A Room in the Proconsul's House 
Enter Metellus and Sempronius 

Met. A revolt in Asia ? 

Sent p. Yes, on the report 

The long-thought-dead Antiochu^ lives. 

Met. I heard 

Such a one appeared in Carthage, but suppressed 
By Titus Flaminius, my noble friend, 
Who, by his letters, promised me a visit, 
If his designs, as I desire they may, 
Succeeded to his wishes. 

Semp. Till you behold him 

I can bring your honour, if you please, where you 
May find fair entertainment. 

Met. From whom, captain ? 

Semp. A new-rigged pinnace, that put off from Corinth, 
And is arrived among us, tight and yare. n 

Nor comes she to pay custom for her fraught, 
But to impose a tax on such as dare 
Presume to look on her, which smock-gamesters offer 
Sooner than she demands it. 

Met. Some fresh courtesan, 

Upon mine honour ! 

Semp. You are i' the right, my lord. 

Met, And there lies your intelligence ? 

Semp. True, my good lord ; 

'Tis a discovery will not shame a captain 

359 



360 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act iv 






When he lies in garrison. Since I was a trader 

In such commodities I never saw 

Her equal. I was ravished with the object, 

And, would you visit her, I believe you would write 

Yourself of my opinion. 

Met. Fie upon thee ! 

I am old. 

Setup. And therefore have the greater use 
Of such a cordial. All Medea's drugs, 11 
And her charms to boot, that made old ^Eson young, 
Were nothing to her touch ; your viper wine, n 
So much in practice with grey-bearded gallants, 
But vappa to the nectar of her lip. 

She hath done miracles since she came. A usurer, 30 
Full of the gout, and more diseases than 
His crutches could support, used her rare physic 
But one short night, and, rising in the morning, 
He danced a lavolta. 

Met. Prithee, leave thy fooling, 

And talk of something else. 

Sernp. The whole world yields not 

Apter discourse. She hath all the qualities 
Conducing to the sport ; sings like a siren, 
Dances as the gross element of earth 
Had no part in her ; her discourse so full 
Of eloquence and prevailing, there is nothing 4° 

She asks to be denied her. Had she desired 
My captain's place, I had cashiered myself; 
And, should she beg your proconsulship, if you heard her, 
'Twere hers, upon my life. 

Met. She should be damned first, 

And her whole tribe. 

Enter Flaminius 

My lord Flaminius, welcome ! 
I have long been full of expectation 



scene i] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 361 

Of your great design, and hope a fair success 
Hath crowned your travail in your bringing in 
This dangerous impostor. 

Flam. At the length, 

I have him and his complices. 

Met. I'll not now 50 

Inquire how you achieved him, but would know, 
Since 'tis referred to you, what punishment 
Should fall upon him. 

Flam. If you please, in private, 

I will acquaint you. 

Met. Captain, let me entreat you 

To meditate on your woman in the next room ; 
We may have employment for you. 

Semp. I had rather 

She would command my service. [Exit. 

Met. Pray you sit. 

Flam. Now, my good lord, I ask your grave advice 
What course to take. 

Met. That, in my judgement, needs not 

Long consultation. He is a traitor, 60 

And, his process framed, 13 must, as a traitor, suffer 
A death due to his treason. 

Flam, There's much more 

To be considered, there being a belief, 
Dispersed almost through Asia, that he is 
The true Antiochus ; and we must decline 
The certain scandal it will draw upon 
The Roman government, if he die the man 
He is by the most received to be ; and therefore, 
Till that opinion be removed, we must 
Use some quaint practice, that may work upon 70 

His hopes or fears, to draw a free confession 
That he was suborned to take on him the name 
He still maintains. 

Met. That, torture will wrest from him ; 

I know no readier way, 



362 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act it 

Flam. If you had seen 

His carriage in Carthage and Bithynia, 
You would not think so. Since I had him in 
My power I have used all possible means that might 
Force him into despair, and so to do 
A violence on himself. He hath not tasted 
These three days any sustenance, and still 80 

Continues fasting. 

Met. Keep him to that diet 

Some few hours more. 

Flam. I am of opinion rather, 

Some competence offered him, and a place of rest, 
Where he might spend the remnant of his days 
In pleasure and security, might do more 
Than fear of death or torture. 

Met. It may be ; 

There are such natures ; and now I think upon't, 
I can help T 'OU to a happy instrument 
To motion it. Your ear. [Whispers. 

Flam. 'Tis wondrous well, 

And it may prove fortunate. 

Met. 'Tis but a trial. 90 

However, I will send for her. 

Flam. Pray you do ; 

She shall have my directions. 

Met. What botches 

Are made in the shop of policy ! 

Flam. So they cover 

The nakedness we must conceal, it skills not. [Exeunt. 



oCene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 363 

Scene II 

Callipolis. The Prison 

Enter Jailer, with a poniard and a halter 

Jai. Why should I feel compunction for that 
Which yields me profit ? Ha ! a prisoner's tears 
Should sooner pierce flint or Egyptian marble 
Than move us to compassion. Yet I know not, 
The sufferings of this miserable man 
Work strangely on me. Some say he is a king ; 
It may be so. But, if they hold out thus, 
I am sure he is like to die a beggar's death, 
And starve for hunger. I am, by a servant 
Of the lord Flaminius, strictly commanded, 10 

Before I have raised him out of the dungeon, 
To lay these instruments in his view ; to what end 
I am not to inquire, but I am certain, 
After his long fast, they are viands that 
Will hardly be digested. Do you hear, sir ? 

Ant. [Below.] If thou art my deathsman, welcome ! 

Joi. I so pity you 

That I wish I had commission, as you rise, 
To free you from all future misery, 
To knock your brains out. 

Ant- Would thou hadst ! 

Jai. You have 

The liberty to air yourself, and that 
7 Is all I can afford you. Fast, and be merry; 
I am elsewhere called on. [Exit. 

Ant. [Rising from below.] Death! as far as faintness 
Will give me leave to chide thee, I am angry 
Thou comest not at me. No attendance ? Famine, 
Thy meagre harbinger, flatters me with hope 
Of thy so wished arrival ; yet thy coming 
Is still deferred. Why ? Is it in thy scorn 



364 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act iv 

To take a lodging here ? I am a king, 

And, though I know the reverence that waits 

Upon the potent sceptre, nor the guards 30 

Of faithful subjects, neither threats, nor prayers 

Of friends or kindred, nor yet walls of brass 

Or fire, should their proud height knock at the moon, 

Can stop thy passage, when thou art resolved 

To force thy entrance. Yet a king, in reason, 

By the will of fate severed from common men, 

Should have the privilege and prerogative, 

When he is willing to disrobe himself 

Of this cobweb garment, life, to have thee ready 

To do thy fatal office. What have we here ? 40 

Enter Flaminius, Metellus, and Sempronius above 

A poniard, and a halter ! From the objects 

I am easily instructed to what end 

They were prepared. Either will serve the turn 

To ease the burthen of a wretched life, 

Or thus [Lifts the dagger], or thus {Lifts the halter\ in 

death ! I must commend 
The Roman courtesy. How am I grown 
So cheap and vile in their opinion that 
I am denied an executioner ? 
Will not the loss of my life quit the cost ? 
O rare frugality ! Will they force me to 50 

Be mine own hangman? Every slave, that's guilty 
Of crimes not to be named, receives such favour 
By the judge's doom, and is my innocence — 
The oppressed innocence of a star-crossed king — 
Held more contemptible ? My better angel, 
Though wanting power to alter fate, discovers 
Their hellish purposes. Yes, yes, 'tis so. 
My body's death will not suffice, they aimed at 
My soul's perdition ; and shall I, to shun 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 365 

A few hours more of misery, betray her ? 60 

No, she is free still, and shall so return 
From whence she came, and in her pureness triumph, 
Their tyranny chained and fettered. 

Flam. O, the devil ! 

Thou art weak. This will not do. 

Met. Mark how he'll stand 

The second charge. 

Setup. The honour is reserved 

For the pretty tempting friend I brought, my life on't. 

Re-enter Jailer, with brown bread, and a wooden dish of 
water 

Jai. Here, sir, take this. Though coarse, it will kill 
hunger ; 
It is your daily pittance. Yet, when you please, 
Your commons may be mended. 

Ant. Show me the way. 

Jai. Confess yourself to be a cozening knave ; 70 

The matter's feasible. But, if you will be 
Still king of the crickets, feed on this and live. 
You shall not say we starved you. [Exit. 

Ant. Stay, I beseech thee, 

And take thy cruel pity back again 
To him that sent it. This is a tyranny 
That doth transcend all precedents. My soul, 
But even now, this lump of clay, her prison, 
Of itself, in the want of nourishment, opening, 
Had shook off her sick feathers, and prepared 
Herself to make a noble flight, as set 80 

At liberty, and now this reparation 
Again immures. You, for whose curious palates 
The elements are ransacked, look upon 
This bill of fare, by my penurious steward, 
Necessity, served to a famished king ; 
And, warned by my example, when your tables 



366 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act iv 

Crack not with the weight of dear and far-fetched 

dainties, 
Dispute not with Heaven's bounties. What shall I do ? 
If I refuse to touch and taste these coarse 
And homely cates, I hasten my own fate, 90 

And so, with willingness, embrace a sin 
I hitherto have fled from. No, I'll eat; 
And if, at this poor rate, life can continue, 
I will not throw it off. 

Flam. I pine with envy 

To see his constancy. 

Met. Bid your property enter, 

And use her subtlest magic. [A lute is heard. 

Semp. I have already 

Acquainted her with her cue. The music ushers 
Her personal appearance. \A song within. 

Ant. From what hand 

And voice do I receive this charity ? 
It is unusual at such a feast. 100 

But I miscall it ; 'tis some new-found engine 
Mounted to batter me. Ha ! 

Enter Courtesan 

Cour. If I were not 

More harsh and rugged in my disposition 
Than thy tormentors, these eyes had outstripped 
My tongue, and, with a shower of tears, had told you 
Compassion brings me hither. 

Ant. That I could 

Believe so much, as, by my miseries — 
An oath I dare not break — I gladly would. 
Pity, me thinks, I know not how, appears 
So lovely in you. 

Cour. It being spent upon %\ 

A subject in each circumstance deserving 
An universal sorrow, though 'tis simple, 



scene ii] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 367 

It cannot be deformed. May I presume 

To kiss your royal hand ? for sure you are not 

Less than a king. 

Ant. Have I one witness living 

Dares only think so much ? 

Cour. I do believe it, 

And will die in that belief ; and nothing more 
Confirms it than your patience, not to be 
Found in a meaner man. Not all the trim 
Of the majesty you were born to, though set off 120 

With pomp and glorious lustre, showed you in 
Such full perfection as at this instant 
Shines round about you, in your constant bearing, 
Your adverse fortune, a degree beyond 
All magnanimity that ever was 
Canonized by mankind. 

Ant. Astonishment 

And wonder seizes on me. Pray you what are you ? 

Cour. Without your pity, nearer to the grave 
Than the malice of prevailing enemies 
Can hurry you. 

Ant. My pity ! I will part with 130 

So much from what I have engrossed n to mourn 
Mine own afflictions as I freely grant it. 
Will you have me weep before I know the cause 
In which I may serve you ? 

Cour. You already have 

Spent too much of that stock. Pray you, first hear me, 
And wrong not my simplicity with doubts 
Of that I shall deliver. I am a virgin — 

Semp. If I had not toyed with her myself, I should now 
believe her ! 

Cour. And though not of the eagle's brood, descended 
From a noble family. 

Semp. Her mother sold her 140 

To a Corinthian lecher at thirteen, 
As 'tis reported. 



368 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act iv 

Met. Be silent, I command you. 

Ant. To be a virgin, and so well derived, 
In my opinion, fair one, are not things 
To be lamented. 

Cour. If I had not fallen 

From my clear height of chastity — I confess it — 
In my too forward wishes . . . that is 
A sin I am guilty of. I am in love, sir, — 
Impotently mad in love, and my desires 
Not to be stopped in their career. 

Ant. With whom 150 

Are you so taken ? 

Cour. With your own dear self, sir. 

Behold me not with such a face of wonder ; 
It is too sad a truth. The story of 
Your most deplorable fortune at the first warmed me 
With more than modest heats. But, since I saw you, 
I am all fire, and shall turn cinders, if 
You show not mercy to, me. 

Ant. Foolish creature, 

If I could suppose this true, and met your wishes 
With equal ardour, as I am, what shadow 
Of seeming hope is left you to arrive at 160 

The port you long for ? 

Cour. If you will be good 

Unto yourself, the voyage is accomplished. 
It is but putting off a poisoned shirt, 
Which in the wearing eats into your flesh, 
And must, against your will, be soon forced from 

you, 
The malice of your enemies tendering to you 
More true security and safety than 
The violence of your friends' and servants' wishes 
Could heap upon you. 

Ant. Tis impossible. 

Clear this dark mystery, for yet, to me, 170 

You speak in riddles. 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 369 

Cour. I will make it easy 

To your understanding, and thus sweeten it 

[Offers to kiss him. 
In the delivery. 'Tis but to disclaim, 
With the continual cares that wait upon it, 
The title of a king. 

Ant. [Aside.] Devil Flaminius ! 

I find you here ! 

Cour. Why do you turn away ? 

The counsel that I offer, if you please 
To entertain it, as long-wished companions, 
In her right hand brings liberty, and a calm 
After so many storms ; and you no sooner 180 

Shall, to the world, profess you were suborned 
To this imposture — though I still believe 
It is a truth — but> with a free remission 
For the offence, I, as your better genius, 
Will lead you from this place of horror to 
A paradise of delight, to which compared, 
Thessalian Tempe, n or that garden where 
Venus with her revived Adonis spend 
Their pleasant hours, 11 and make from their embraces 
A perpetuity of happiness, 190 

Deserve not to be named. There, in an arbour, 
Of itself supported o'er a bubbling spring, 
With purple hyacinths and roses covered, 
We will enjoy the sweets of life, nor shall 
Arithmetic sum up the varieties of 
Our amorous dalliance ; our viands such, 
As not alone shall nourish appetite, 
But strengthen our performance ; and, when called for, 
The quiristers of the air shall give us music ; 
And, when we slumber, in a pleasant dream 200 

You shall behold the mountains of vexations 
Which you have heaped upon the Roman tyrajits 
In your free resignation of your kingdom, 
And smile at their afflictions. 



370 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act iv 

Ant. Hence, you siren ! 

Cour. Are you displeased ? 

Ant. Were all your flatteries 

Aimed at this mark ? Will not my virtuous anger, 
Assisted by contempt and scorn, yield strength 
To spurn thee from me ? But thou art some whore — 
Some common whore — and, if thou hast a soul — 
As in such creatures it is more than doubted — 210 

It hath its being in thy wanton veins, 
And will, with thy expense of blood, become 
Like that of sensual beasts. 

Met. This will not do. 

Ant. How did my enemies lose themselves to think, 
A painted prostitute with her charms could coriquer 
What malice, at the height, could not subdue ! 
Is all their stock of malice so consumed, 
As, out of penury, they are forced to use 
A whore for their last agent ? 

Cour. If thou wert 

Ten times a king thou liest. I am a lady, 220 

A gamesome lady of the last edition, 
And though I physic noblemen, no whore. 

Met. He hath touched her freehold. 

Semp. Now let her alone, 

And she will worry him. 

Cour. Have I lived to have 

My courtesies refused ? That I had leave 

To pluck thy eyes out ! 

Are you so coy ? Thou art a man of snow, 

And thy father got thee in the wane of the moon ! 

But scorn me not. 'Tis true I was set on 

By the higher powers. But now, for all the wealth 230 

In Asia, thou shalt not have the favour, 

Though, prostrate on the earth, thou wouldst implore it, 

To kiss my shoestring. 



scene in] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 371 

Re-enter Jailer and others 

Flam. We lose time, my lord. 

Cour. Foh ! how he stinks ! I will not wear a rag 
more 
That he hath breathed on. [Exit. 

Met. Without more ado 

Let him have his sentence. 

Flam. Drag him hence. 

Ant. Are you there ? 

Nay, then — 

Flam. I will not hear him speak. My anger 

Is lost. Why linger you ? 

Ant. Death ends all, however ! 

[Exeunt. 



Scene III 

Callipolis. A Street 

Enter Officers, leading in Berecinthius n and 1st 
Merchant, with halters 

Bere. What a skeleton they have made of me ! Star /e 
me first, 
And hang me after ! Is there no conscience extant 
To a man of my order ? They have degraded me, 
Ta'en away my lions, n and to make me roar like them 
They have pared the flesh off from my fingers' ends, 
And then laughed at me. I have been kept in darkness 
These five long days, no visitants but devils, 
Or men in shapes more horrid, coming at me. 
A chafing-dish of coals and a butcher's knife 
I found set by me, and, inquiring why, 10 

I was told that I had flesh enough of mine own, 
And, if that I were hungry, I might freely 



372 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act iv 

Eat mine own carbonadoes, and be chronicled 
For a cannibal never read of. 

Off. . Will you walk, sir ? 

Bere. I shall come too soon, though I creep, to such a 
breakfast. 
I ever use to take my portion sitting 
Hanging in the air, 'tis not physical. 

Off. Time flies away, sir. 

Bere. Why, let him fly, sir. Or, if you please to stay 
him, 
And bind up the bald knave's wings, make use of my 

collar. 
There is substance in it, I can assure your worship, 20 
And I thank your wisdom that you make distinction 
Between me and this starveling. He goes to it 
Like a greyhound for killing of sheep in a twopenny 

slip. 
But here's a cable will weigh up an anchor, 
And yet, if I may have fair play, ere I die 
Ten to one I shall make it crack. 

Off. What would you have, sir ? 

Bere. My ballast about me; I shall ne'er sail well 
else 
To the other world. My bark, you see, wants stowage. 
But give me half a dozen of hens and a loin of veal 
To keep it steady, and you may spare the trouble 30 
Of pulling me by the legs, or setting the knot 
Under mine ear. This drum, well braced, defies 
Such foolish courtesies. 

1st Mer. This mirth, good flamen, 

Is out of season. Let us think of Elysium, 
If we die honest men ; or what we there 
Shall suffer from the Furies. 

Bere. Thou art a fool 

To think there are or gods or goddesses. 
For the latter, if that she had any power, 
Mine, being the mother of them, would have helped me, 




scene in] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 373 

They are things we make ourselves. Or, grant there 
should be 40 

A hell, or an Elysium, sing I cannot 
To Orpheus' harp in the one, nor dance in the other. 
But, if there be a Cerberus, if I serve not 
To make three sops for his three heads, that may serve 
For something more than an ordinary breakfast, 
The cur is devilish hungry. Would I had 
Ran away with your fellow merchants ! I had then ^ 
Provided for my fame. Yet, as I am, 
I have one request to make, and that, my friends, 
Concerns my body, which I pray you grant, 50 

And then I shall die in peace. 

Off. What is it? 

Bere. Marry, 

I That you would be suitors to the proconsul for me 
That no covetous Roman, after I am dead, 
May beg to have my skin flayed off, and stuff it 
With straw like an alligator, and then show it 
In fairs and markets for a monster. Though 
I know the sight will draw more fools to gape on't 
Than a camel or an elephant, aforehand 
I tell you, if you do, my ghost shall haunt you. 

Off. You shall have burial, fear not. 

Bere. And room enough 

;: . To tumble in, I pray you, though I take up 6i 

More grave than Alexander. 11 I have ill luck 
If I stink not as much as he, and yield the worms 
As large a supper. 

1st Mer. Are you not mad to talk thus ? 

Bere. I came crying into the world, and am resolved 
To go out merrily ; therefore dispatch me. [Exeunt. 



374 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act iv 

Scene IV 
Callipolis: A Room in the Proconsul's House 
Enter Metellus and Flaminius 

Met. There never was such constancy. 

Flam. You give it 

Too fair a name. 'Tis foolish obstinacy, 
For which he shall, without my pity, suffer. 
What we do for the service of the republic, 
And propagation of Rome's glorious empire, 
Needs no defence, and we shall wrong our judgements 
To feel compunction for it. Have you given order, 
According to the sentence, that the impostor, 
Riding upon an ass, his face turned to 
The hinder part, may in derision be j 

Brought through Callipolis ? 

Met. Yes ; and a paper 

Upon his head, in which, with capital letters, 
His faults inscribed, and by three trumpeters 
Proclaimed before him ; and, that done, to have him 
Committed to the galleys. Here comes Sempronius, 

Enter Sempronius 

To whom I gave the charge. 

Semp. I have performed it 

In every circumstance. 

Flam. How do the people 

Receive it ? 

Semp. As an act of cruelty, 

And not of justice. It drew tears from all 
The sad spectators. His demeanour was 2 

In the whole progress worth the observation, 
But one thing most remarkable. 

Flam. What was that? 




scene iv] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 375 



Sernp. When the city clerk with a loud voice read the 
cause 
For which he was condemned, in taking on him 
The name of a king, with a settled countenance 
The miserable man replied, "I am so :" 
But when he touched his being a cheating Jew, 
His patience moved, with a face full of anger 
He boldly said, " 'Tis 'false. l} I never saw 
Such magnanimity. 

Flam. Frontless impudence rather. 30 

Sernp. Or anything else you please. 

Flam. Have you forced on him 

The habit of a slave ? 

Sernp. Yes, and in that, 

Pardon my weakness, still there does appear 
A kind of majesty in him. 

Flam. You look on it 

With the eyes of foolish pity that deceives you. „ 

Semp. This way he comes ; and, I believe, when you 
see him, 
You'll be of my opinion. 

Off. [Within.] Make way there. 

Enter Officers, leading in Antiochus, his head shaved, 
in the habit of a slave 

Ant. Fate ! 'tis thy will it should be thus, and I 
With patience obey it. Was there ever, 
In all precedent maps of misery, 40 

Calamity so drawn out to the life 
As she appears in me ? In all the changes 
Of fortune, such a metamorphosis 
Antiquity cannot show us. Men may read there 
Of kings deposed, and some in triumph led 
By the proud insulting Roman ; yet they were 
Acknowledged such, and died so. My sad fate 
Is of a worse condition, and Rome 



376 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act rv 

To me more barbarous than ere yet to any 

Brought in subjection. Is it not sufficient 5c 

That the locks of this our royal head are shaved off, 

My glorious robes changed to this slavish habit, 

This hand that grasped a sceptre manacled ; 

Or that I have been, as a spectacle, 

Exposed to public frown, if to make perfect 

The cruel reckoning I am not compelled 

To live beyond this, and, with stripes, be forced 

To stretch my shrunk-up sinews at an oar, 

In the company of thieves and murderers, 

My innocence and their guilt no way distinguished, 60 

But equal in our sufferings ? 

Met. You may yet 

Redeem all, and be happy. 

Flam. But, persisting 

In this imposture, think but what it is 
To live in hell on earth, and rest assured 
It is your fatal portion. 

Ant. Do what you please. 

I am in your power, but still Antiochus, 
King of the Lower Asia — no impostor — 
That, four and twenty years since, lost a battle, 
And challenge now mine own, which tyrannous Rome 
With violence keeps from me. 

Flam. Stop his mouth ! 70 

Ant. This is the very truth ; and, if I live 
Thrice Nestor's years in torture, I will speak 
No other language. 

Met. I begin to melt. 

Flam. To the galley with him ! 

Ant. Every place shall be 

A temple in my penitence to me ! [Exeunt. 



ACT THE FIFTH 

Scene I 

Syracuse. An Apartment in a Palace 

Enter Marcellus, and the 2nd and yd Merchants 

Mar. Upon your recantation this gallerian 
Was not Antiochus, you had your pardons 
Signed by the Senate ? 

2nd Mer. Yes, my lord. 

Mar. Troth, tell me, 

And freely — I am no informer — did you 
Believe and know him such, or raised that rumour 
For private ends of your own ? 

yd Mer. May it please your excellence 

To understand the fear of death wrought on us, 
In a kind, to turn apostatas ; besides, 
Having proved our testimonies could not help him, 
We studied our safeties. 

2nd Mer. A desire too 10 

Of the recovery of our own, kept from us 
With strong hand, by his violent persecutor, 
Titus Flaminius, when he was at Carthage, 
Urged us to seek redress ; nor was it fit 
We should oppose great Rome. 

Mar. In worldly wisdom 

You are excusable ; but — 

yd Mer. We beseech your honour 

Press us no further. 

Mar. I do not purpose it. 

Do you know what this contains ? [Holding up a letter. 

377 



378 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act v 

2nd Mer. No, my good lord. 

yd Mer. Perhaps we bring the warrant for our deaths, 
As 'tis said of Bellerophon, n yet we durst not 20 

Presume to open it. 

Mar. 'Twas manners in you, 

But I'll discharge you of that fear. There is 
No hurt intended to you. 

yd Mer. We thank your lordship. 

Mar. How is the service of Flaminius spoke of 
In Rome ? 

2nd Mer. With admiration, and many 
Divine great honours to him. 

Mar. The people's voice 

Is not oraculous ever. Are you sure 
The galley in which your supposed king is chained 
Was bound for Syracusa ? 

yd Mer. She is now 

In the port, my lord. 

Mar. Titus Flaminius in her ? 30 

yd Mer. Upon my certain knowledge. 

Mar. Keep yourselves 

Concealed till you are called for. When least hoped for, 
You shall have justice. 

2nd Mer. Your honour's vassals ever. 

[Exeunt Merchants. 

Mar. Here, here, it is apparent that the poet 
Wrote truth, though no proof else could be alleged 
To make it good, that, though the Heavens lay open 
To human wishes, and the Fates were bound 
To sign what we desire, such clouds of error 
Involve our reason, we still beg a curse, 
And not a blessing. How many, born unto 40 

Ample possessions, and, like petty kings, 
Disposing of their vassals, sated with 
The peace and quiet of a country life, 
Carried headlong with ambition, contend 
To wear the golden fetters of employment, 



scene i] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 379 

Presuming there's no happiness but in 

The service of the state ! But when they have tried, 

By a sad experience, the burthen of them, 

When 'tis not in their power, at any rate 

They would redeem their calm security, 50 

Mortgaged in wantonness. Alas ! what are we, 

That govern provinces, but preys exposed 

To every subtle spy ? And when we have, 

Like sponges, sucked in wealth, we are squeezed out 

By the rough hand of the law ; and, failing in 

One syllable of our commission, with 

The loss of w T hat w T e got with toil, we draw 

Enter Cornelia and a Moor-woman 



What was our own in question. — You come timely, 
To turn my tired thoughts from a sad discourse 
That I had with myself. 

Corn. I rather fear, sir, 60 

I bring an argument along with me 
That will increase, not lessen, such conceptions 
As I found with you. 

Mar. Why, sweet ? What's the matter ? 

Corn. When I but name Antiochus, though I spare 
To make a brief relation how he died, 
Or what he is, if he now live, a sigh, 
And seconded with a tear, I know, must fall 
As a due tribute to him. 

Mar. . Which I pay 

Without compulsion ; but why do you 
Lance this old sore ? 

Corn. The occasion commands it, 7c 

And now I would forget it, I am forced, 
In thankfulness, to call to memory 
The favours for which we must ever owe him. 
You had the honour, in his court at Sardis n 



380 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act 



; 



To be styled his friend, an honour Rome and Carthage 

Were rivals for, and did deserve the envy 

Of his prime minions and favourites ; 

His natural subjects planted in his favour 

Or rooted up, as your dislike or praise 

Reported them ; the good king holding what 80 

You spake to be oraculous, and not 

To be disputed. His magnificent gifts 

Confirmed his true affection, which you were 

More weary to receive than he to give ; 

Yet still he studied new ones. 

Mar. Pray you, no more. 

Corn. O, 'tis a theme, sir, I could ever dwell on ; 
But, since it does offend you, I will speak 
Of what concerns myself. He did not blush, 
•In the height of his felicity, to confess 
Fabricius, my lord and father, for 90 

His much-loved kinsman, and as such observed him. 
You may please to remember too, when, at 
A public sacrifice made to the gods 
After a long infection, in which 
The Asian kings and queens were his assistants, 
With what respect and grace he did receive me ; 
And, at a solemn tilting, when he had 
Put on the richest armour of the world, 
Smiling he said — his words are still, and shall be, 
Writ in the tablet of my heart — "Fair cousin," too 

So he began — and then you thought me fair too — 
" Since I am turned soldier, 'twere a solecism, 
In the language of the war, to have no mistress ; 
And therefore, as a prosperous omen to 
My undertakings, I desire to fight, 
So you with willingness give suffrage to it, 
Under your gracious colours;" i\m\ then, loosening 
A scarf tied to mine arm, he did entreat me 
To fasten it on his. (), with what joy 
I did obey him, rapt beyond myself no 



scene i] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 38 1 

In my imagination to have 
So great a king my servant ! 

Alar. You had too 

Some private conference. 

Corn. And you gave way to it 

Without a sign of jealousy, and dispensed with 
The Roman gravity. 

Mar. Would I could again 

Grant you like opportunity .... 
Is this remembered now ? 

Corn. It does prepare 

A suit I have, which you must not deny me, 
To see the man, w T ho, as it is reported, 
In the exterior parts Nature hath drawn 120 

As his perfect copy. There must be something in him 
Remarkable in his resemblance only 
Of King Antiochus' features. 

Mar. 'Twas my purpose ; 






Enter Flaminius and Demetrius 



And so much, my Cornelia, Flaminius 
Shall not deny us. 

Flam. As my duty binds me, 

My stay here being but short, I come unsent for 
To kiss your lordship's hands. 

Mar. I answer you 

n your own language, sir. — [Aside.] And yet your stay 

here 
May be longer than you think. 

Flam. Most honoured madam, 

I cannot stoop too low in tendering of 130 

My humblest service. 

Com. You disgrace your courtship 

In overacting it, my lord ; I look not 
For such observance. 



1 



382 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act v 

Flam. I am most unhappy, 

If that your excellence make any scruple 
Of doubt you may command me. 

Com. This assurance 

Gives me encouragement to entreat a favour, 
In which my lord being a suitor with me, 
I hope shall find a grant. 

Flam. Though all that's mine 

Be comprehended in't. 

Mar. Your promise, sir, 

Shall not so far engage you. In respect 140 

Of some familiar passages between 
The King Antiochus, when he lived, and us, 
And, though it needs it not, for farther proof 
That this is an impostor, we desire 
Some conference with him. 

Flam. For your satisfaction 

I will dispense a little with the strictness 
Of my commission. — Sirrah, will the captain 
To bring him to the proconsul. 

Com. His chains took off ; 

That I entreat too, since I would not look on 
The image of a king I so much honoured 150 

Bound like a slave. 

Flam. See this great lady's will 

Be punctually obeyed. [Exit Demetrius. 

Mar. Your wisdom, sir, 

Hath done the state a memorable service, 
In strangling in the birth this dreadful monster; 
And, though with sonic your cruel usage of him — 

o they call your fit severity — 
May find a harsh interpretation, wise men 
In judgement must applaud it. 

Flam. Such as are 

Sele< ted instruments for deep designs, 
As things unworthy of them, must not feel 160; 

Or favours or affections. Though 1 know 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 383 

The ocean of your apprehensions needs not 

The rivulet of my poor cautions, yet, 

Bold from my long experience, I presume — 

As a symbol of my zeal and service to you — 

To leave this counsel. When you are, my lord, 

Graced or distasted by the state, remember 

Your faculties are the state's, and not your own, 

And therefore have a care the empty sounds 

Of friend or enemy sway you not beyond . 170 

The limits are assigned you. We, with ease, 

Swim down the stream. But to oppose the torrent 

Is dangerous, and to go more or less 

Than we are warranted, fatal. 

Mar. With my thanks 

For your so grave advice, I'll put in practice 
On all occasions what you deliver, 
And study them as aphorisms. In the meantime, 
Pray you accept such entertainment as 
Syracusa can present you. When the impostor 179 

Arrives let us have notice. Pray you walk, sir. [Exeunt. 



Scene II 

Another Room in the same 

Enter Antiochus, Captain, and Soldiers 

Capt. Wait at the palace gate. There is no fear now 
Of his escape ; I'll be myself his guardian 
Till you hear further from me. [Exeunt Soldiers. 

Ant. What new engine 

Hath cruelty found out to raise against 
This poor demolished rampire ? It is levelled 
With the earth already. Will they triumph in 
The ruins they have made, or is there yet 
One masterpiece of tyranny in store 



384 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act v 

Beyond that I have suffered ? If there be 

A vial of affliction not poured out yet i< 

Upon this sinful head, I am prepared, 

And will look on the cloud before it break 

Without astonishment. Scorn me not, captain, 

As a vain braggart. I will make this good, 

And I have strength to do it. I am armed 

With such varieties of defensive weapons, 

Lent to me from my passive fortitude, 

That there's no torment of a shape so horrid 

Can shake my constancy. Where lies the scene now? 

Though the hangings of the stage were congealed gore, 

The chorus flinty executioners, 21 

And the spectators, if it could be, more 

Inhuman than Flaminius, the cue given, 

The principal actor's ready. 

Capt. If I durst 

I could show my compassion. 

Ant. Take heed, captain ; 

Pity in Roman officers is a crime 
To be punished more than murder in cold blood. 
Bear up. To tell me where I am, I take it, 
Is no offence. 

Capt. You are in Syracusa, 

In the court of the proconsul. 

Ant. Who? Marcellus? 30 

Capt. That noble Roman. By him you are sent for, 
But to what end I am ignorant. 

Ant. Ha ! He was 

My creature, and, in my prosperity, proud 
To hold dependence of me, though T graced him 
With the title of a friend ; and his fair lady 
In courtship styled my mistress. Can they be 
Infected with such barbarism as to make me 
A spectacle for their sport ? 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 385 

Enter Marcellus, Flaminius, Cornelia, Moor-woman, 

and Servants 

Capt. They are here, and soon 

They will resolve you. 

Mar. Be reserved, and let not 

The near resemblance of his shape transport you 40 

Beyond yourself ; though I confess the object 
Does much amaze me. 

Corn. You impose, my lord, 

What I want power to bear. 

Mar. Let my example, 

Though your fierce passions make war against it, 
Strengthen your reason. 

Ant. Have you taken yet 

A full view of me ? In what part do I 
Appear a monster ? 

Corn. His own voice! 

Mar. Forbear. 

Ant. Though I were an impostor, as this fellow 
Labours you to believe, you break the laws 
Of fair humanity in adding to 50 

Affliction at the height ; and I must tell you 
The reverence you should pay unto the shape 
Of King Antiochus may challenge pity 
As a due debt, not scorn. Wise men preserve 
Dumb pictures of their friends, and look upon them 
With feeling and affection, yet not hold it 
A foolish superstition ; but there is 
, In thankfulness a greater tie on you 
To show compassion. 

Mar. Were it possible 

Thou couldst be King Antiochus — 

Ant What then? 60 

Mar, I should both say and do — 

Ant. Nothing for me — 

As far as my persuasion could prevent it — 






386 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act v 

Not suiting with the quality and condition 

Of one that owes his loyalty to Rome ; 

And since it is by the inscrutable will 

Of fate determined that the royalties 

Of Asia must be conferred upon her, 

For what offence I know not, 'tis in vain 

For men to oppose it. You express, my lord, 

A kind of sorrow for me, in which, madam, 70 

You seem to be a sharer. That you may 

Have some proof to defend it, for your mirth's sake 

I'll play the juggler, or more subtle gipsy, 

And to your admiration reveal 

Strange mysteries to you, which, as you are Roman-., 

You must receive for cunning tricks, but give 

No farther credit to them. 

Flam. At your peril 

You may give him hearing ; but to have faith in him 
Neighbours to treason. Such an impudent slave 
Was never read of. 

Mar. I dare stand his charms 

With open ears. Speak on. 

Ant. If so, have at you ! 

Can you call to your memory, when you were 
At Sardis with Antiochus, before 
His Grecian expedition, what he, 
With his own hands, presented you as a favour, 
No third man by to witness it ? 

Mar. - Give me leave 

To recollect myself. Yes — sure 'twas so — 
He gave me a fair sword. 

Ant. 'Tis true, and you 

Vowed never to part from it. Is it still 
In your possession ? 

Mar. The same sword I have, 00 

And, while I live, will keep. 

A ;;/. Will you not say, 

It being four and twenty years since you 



scene 11] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 387 

Were master of that gift, if now I know it, 
Among a thousand others, that I have 
The art of memory ? 

Mar. I shall receive it 

As no common sleight. — Sirrah, fetch all the swords 
For mine own use in my armoury ; and, do you hear ? 
Do as I give directions. [Whisper , 

Sere. With all care, sir. [Exit. 

A nt. To entertain the time until your servant 
Returns, there is no syllable that passed 100 

Between you and Antiochus which I could not 
iVrticulately deliver. You must still 
Be confident that I am an impostor, 
Or else the trick is nothing. 

Re-enter Servant, with many swords 

Com. Can this be? 

Ant. 0, welcome, friend. Most choice and curious 
swords, 
But mine is not among them. 

Mar. Bring the rest. 

Enter another Servant, with more swords 

Ant. Ay, this is it. This is the sword I gave you 
Before I went to Greece. Be not amazed, 
• Nor let this trifle purchase a belief 

,1 am Antiochus. Here is one will assure you no 

These are but juggling tricks of an affronter. 

Flam. They are no more. A contract's sealed between 
The devil and this seducer, at the price 
Of his damned soul, and his familiar demon 
; Acquaints him with these passages. 

Mar. I know not, 

But I am thunderstruck. 



388 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act v 

Corn. I can contain 

Myself no longer. 

Ant. Stay, dear madam ; though 

Credulity be excusable in your sex, 
To take away all colour of guilt in you, 
You shall have stronger proofs. The scarf you gave me, 
As a testimony you adopted me 121 

Into your service, I ware on mine armour, 
When I fought with Marcus Scaurus ; and mine eye 
Hath on the sudden found a precious jewel 
You deigned to receive from me . . . 
Which you wear on your . . . 

Corn. I acknowledge 

It was the King Antiochus' gift. 

Ant. I will 

Make a discovery of a secret in it 
Of which you yet are ignorant. Pray you trust it, 
For King Antiochus' sake, into my hands. 130 

I thank your readiness. Nay, dry your eyes ; 
You hinder else the faculty of seeing 
The cunning of the lapidary. I can 
Pull out the stone, and under it you shall find 
My name, and cipher I then used, engraven. 

Corn. 'Tis most apparent. Though I lose my life for't, 
These knees shall pay their duty. 

Ant. By no means. 

For your own sake be still incredulous, 
Since youi faith cannot save me. I should know 
This Moorish woman. Yes, 'tis she. — Thou wert 140 
One of my laundry, and thou wast called Zanthia 
While thou wert mine. I am glad thou hast lighted on 
So gracious a mistress. 

M o or -woman. Mine own king ! 

O, let tne kiss your feet. What cursed villains 
Have thus transformed you? 

Flam. 'Tis not safe, my lord, 

To suffer this. 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 389 

Mar. I am turned statue, or 

All this is but a vision. 

Ant. Your ear, madam. 

Since what I now shall say is such a secret 
As is known only to yourself and me, 
And must exclude a third, though your own lord, 150 
From being of the counsel. Having gained 
Access and privacy with you, my hot blood — 
No friend to modest purposes — prompted me, 
With pills of poisoned language, candied o'er 
With hopes of future greatness, to attempt 
The ruin of your honour. I enforced then 
My power to justify the ill, and pressed you 
With mountainous promises of love and service : 
But when the building of your faith and virtue 
Began to totter, and a kind of grant 160 

Was offered, my then sleeping temperance 
Began to rouse itself ; and, breaking through 
The obstacles of lust, when most assured 
To enjoy a pleasant hour, I let my suit fall, 
And, with a gentle reprehension, taxed 
Your forward proneness, but with many vows 
Ne'er to discover it, which Heaven can witness 
I have and will keep faithfully. 

Corn. This is 

The King Antiochus, as sure as I am 
The daughter of my mother. 

Mar. Be advised. 170 

Flam. This is little less than treason ! 

Corn. They are traitors, 

Traitors to innocence and oppressed justice, 
That dare affirm the contrary. 

Mar. Pray you temper 

The violence of your passion. . . . 



Corn but express 

Your thankfulness for his so many . , 



390 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act v 

And labour that the Senate may restore him 
Unto his own ; I'll die else. 

Ant. Live long, madam, 

To nobler and more profitable uses. 180 

I am a falling structure, and desire not 
Your honours should be buried in my ruins. 
Let it suffice, my lord, you must not see 
The sun, if, in the policy of state, 
It is forbidden. With compassion 
Of what a miserable king hath suffered, 
Preserve me in your memory. 

Flam. You stand as 

This sorcerer had bewitched you. — Drag him to 
His oar, 11 and let his weighty chains be doubled. 

Mar. For my sake, let the poor man have what 
favour iqo 

You can afford him. 

Flam. Sir, you must excuse me. — 

You have abused the liberty I gave you ; 

[To Antiochus. 
But, villain, you pay dear for't. — I will trust 
The execution of his punishment 
To no man but myself ; his cries and groans 
Shall be my hourly music. So, my lord, 
I take my leave abruptly. 

Corn. May all plagues, 

That ever followed tyranny, pursue thee ! 

War. Pray you stay a little. 

Flam. On no terms. 

Mar. Yield so much 

To my entreaties. 

\m. Not a minute, for 200 

government ! 

Mar. I will not purchase, sir, 

Your company at such a rale; and yet 
Musi take the boldness upon me to tell you 
Von mu >t and shall stay. 



scene n] BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 39 1 

Flam. How ! 

Mar. Nay, what is more, 

As a prisoner, not a guest. Look not so high ; 
I'll humble your proud thoughts. 

Flam. You dare not do this 

Without authority. 

Mar. You shall find I have 

Sufficient warrant, with detaining you, 
To take this man into my custody. — 
Though 'tis not in my power, whate'er you are, 210 

To do you further favour, I thus free you 
Out of this devil's paws. 

Ant. I take it as 

A lessening of my torments. 

Flam. You shall answer 

This in another place. 

Mar. But you shall here 

Yield an account without appeal for what 
You have already done. You may peruse .... 

[Hands him a letter. 
Shake you already ? Do you find I have 
. . . . Call in the Asian merchants. 






Enter 2nd and 3rd Merchants and Guards 



. . . now to be hanged 

. . him that pities thee 

. cusers 

die and will prove that you took bribes 
Of the Carthaginian merchants, to detain 
Their lawful prize ; and, for your sordid ends, 
Abused the trust, committed by the state, 
To right their vassals. The wise Senate, as 
They will reward your good and faithful service, 
Cannot, in justice, without punishment 
Pass o'er your ill. Guiltiness makes you dumb ; 






392 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST [act v 

But, till that I have leisure, and you find 
Your tongue, to prison with him. 

Flam. I prove too late, 

As Heaven is merciful, man's cruelty 
Never escapes unpunished. 

[Exeunt Guards with Flaminius. 

Ant. How a smile 

Labours to break forth from me ! But what is 
Rome's pleasure shall be done with me. 

Mar. Pray you think, sir, 

A Roman, not your constant friend, that tells you 
You are confined unto the Gyarae n 
With a strong guard upon you. 

Re-enter Guard 

Ant. Then 'tis easy 

To prophesy I have not long to live, 240 

Though the manner how I shall die is uncertain. 
Nay, weep not. Since 'tis not in you to help me, 
These showers of tears are fruitless. May my story 
Teach potentates humility, and instruct 
Proud monarchs, though they govern human things. 
A greater power does raise, or pull down, kings ! 

[Flourish. Exeunt, 



243 
EPILOGUE 

The end of epilogues is to inquire 

The censure of the play, or to desire 

Pardon for what's amiss. In his intent 

The maker vows that he is innocent ; 

And, for me and my fellows, I protest, 

And you may believe me, we have done our best ; 

And reason too we should. But whether you 

Conceive we have with care discharged what's due 

Rests yet in supposition ; you may 

If you please resolve us. If our fate this day 

Prove prosperous, and you too vouchsafe to give 

Some sign your pleasure is this work shall live, 

We will find out new ways for your delight, 

And, to our power, ne'er fail to do you right. 



393 



NOTES 

Figures in black type refer to pages; those in light face to lines. 

THE ROMAN ACTOR 

37: i. Agave's frenzy. Agave was the daughter of Cadmus, 
founder of Thebes. After her son Pentheus succeeded to the 
kingdom, Bacchus came to Thebes, and taught his orgies to 
the women of the city. Pentheus attempted to moderate their 
excesses, but was torn to pieces by his mother Agave and her 
sisters. — 6. buSkined scene. Tragedy, since actors in plays 
of this sort wore " buskins, " laced half-boots with raised soles 
and heels, to increase their stature. Similarly " humble sock " 
is used for " comedy," since comic actors wore a light low-heeled 
shoe called soccus. — 9. Great Pompey's work. Pompey's 
theatre, finished B.C. 52, and with a capacity, according to con- 
temporary report, of some 10,000 spectators less than is here 
claimed. — 16. Liburnian slaves. Liburnia was a division of 
Illyria, corresponding to the modern Croatia. Slaves from this 
country, according to Juvenal (iii. 239, iv. 75), were used in 
Rome as sedan-bearers. 

38: 19. guarded robe. Tunic guarded or trimmed with 
purple ; worn by senators. — 26. sestertii. The sestertius 
was a Roman coin, worth 4J cents. — 39. Aventine. The 
southernmost of the seven hills of Rome; here figurative for 
" fortress," " security." — 44. Catti and the Daci. Catti was 
the original of the modern lt Hesse," and the name of the tribe 
peopling Hesse and Thuringia in the first century. The Da< 
or Dacians, living between the Theiss ;md the Danube, were not 
conquered as Domitian (scene iv) pretends, but actually forced 
Rome, in the campaign just finished, to recognize their king 
and pay him tribute. They were nol ''subdued" till the 
reign of Trajan (a.d. 100). Massinger follows Suetonius 
here ( Domitianus, vi) : " After several battles with the Catti and 
the Daci, Domitian celebrated a double triumph." 

40:84. 'the Delight of all Mankind." Delicto human 1 



THE ROMAN ACTOR 395 

generis: a phrase applied to Titus after his death (a.d. 82). 
Though dissolute in earlier years, this emperor gave up his evil 
habits on assuming the purple, and devoted himself to the re- 
form of Roman morals. Massinger in the next lines enlarges 
the incident told by Suetonius and others : " Once at supper, 
remembering that he had done nothing for any one that day, he 
broke out into the memorable and justly-admired saying, 
Diem perdidi, ' I have lost a day.' " — 94. fastened to the hook. 
The bodies of executed criminals were dragged to the Tiber by 
hooks fastened to their necks. — 95. Gemonies. The Gemonian 
Steps, on the face of the Aventine Hill, down which the bodies of 
condemned prisoners were thrown. On these, Vitellius " was 
tormented and put to death, and his body dragged by a hook to 
the Tiber." — 103. Vitellian war. The civil war which broke 
out on the revolt of the legions against Vitellius. Domitian 
fled with the rebel party of Rome to the Capitol, which Vitellius 
set on fire. Domitian saved himself by emerging disguised as a 
priest of Isis. 

41: 114. Curia. Meeting-place of the Senate. 

42: 35. my way of youth. My course, my time of youth. 
Cf. Macbeth, V. iii. 22, 23 : 

my way of life 
Is fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf. 

45: 1. Fathers conscript. "Fathers and Chosen" (Patres 
Conscripti), the ancient title by which officers and orators 
addressed the Senate. — 3. frequent Senate. Fully assem- 
bled Senate. 

46: 15. The style . . . Rome. Marcus Claudius Marcellus, 
killed (b.c. 208) in the war with Hannibal, was often called 
the "Sword of Rome " because of bis aggressive and vigorous 
campaigns. The epithet " Shield of Rome " belongs rather to 
Fabius Quintus Maximus, for his policy of delay, than to Mar- 
cellus. — 19. Cato's resolution. The reference is to Marcus 
Cato, of Utica in North Africa, and the resolute manner of 
his suicide. After the overthrow of Pompey's party (b.c. 46), 
Cato sent away his last defenders, and gave himself a wound 
with a dagger. When attendants had stopped the flow of blood, 
Cato insistently and effectually tore off his bandages. — 24. 
as. Supply who before as. — 33. I . . . quality. I accuse 
your profession — actors in general — of treason. 



396 THE ROMAN ACTOR 

48 : 85. Alcides. An appellation of Hercules ; from the name 
of his grandfather Alceus. — 86. bold Camillus. L. Furius 
Camillus, according to Livy (v. 46), stopped the purchase of 
peace from the Gauls, after their capture of the city under 
Brennus, and routed the invaders. For this he was called the 
father of his country, and the second founder of the city. — 
88. Scipio. Scipio Africanus the Elder, who defeated the forces 
of Carthage under Hannibal (b.c. 202), and imposed hard 
conditions upon the city. — 102. Lydian. Lydia, as the rich- 
est province of Asia Minor, was proverbially corrupt. 

51:27. Plautus' braggart. The title character in "The 
Braggart Soldier " (Miles Gloriosus), a cdmedy of Plautus (b.c. 
254-184). — 29. Daci. See note under " Catti," p. 38, 1. 44. 

52 : 41. Bellona. Sister (or wife) of Mars, and goddess of 
war. 

58:67. Phlegraean plain. The region about Vesuvius, still 
smoking, as the poets feigned, from thunderbolts hurled by Jove 
in his overthrow of the giants. — 82. Capitol. The chief temple 
and citadel of Rome, on the Capitoline Hill, destroyed in the 
reign of Vitellius (cf. note, p. 40, 1. 103), and just restored at 
fabulous cost by Domitian. 

54: 19. Tyrian purple. Robes dyed in the costly murex 
purple, of Tyre, the patrician colour of classical times. 

55 : 30. Apicius. A noted epicure living in the reigns of 
Augustus and Tiberius. Lucullus, conqueror of Mithridates 
and Tigranes (b.c. 74-66), lived in phenomenal luxury with the 
wealth acquired in this campaign. — 44. electuaries. An elec- 
tuary is any candied substance, as honey, used as the vehicle of a 
drug. — 45. bezoar stone. A concretion found in the stomach 
or intestines of certain animals, and once believed to possess 
curative powers. 

58: 122. Agricola. The conqueror of Britain — recalled by 
Domitian — who had died (a.d. 93) of an illness that suggested 
poison. 

61: 224. Calliope. Muse of eloquence and epic poetry. 

62:2sr. Sabinus. Brother of the emperor Vespasian and 
uncle of Domitian. - 254. Phcebe. The moon. 

64 : 300. Mammon. The Syrian god of riches ; unmentioned, 
as Massinger apparently forgets, by classic authors. 

66: 356. Solon. The celebrated lawgiver of Athens, and the 
unimpeachable arbitrator between her rich and poor. — 358. 



THE ROMAN ACTOR 397 

Irus. The glutton of Ithaca, who opposed Ulysses's entry 
(Odyssey, xviii) to his palace. 

67:4ii. filched . . . Horace. Namely, from the Satires 

(II. 3-) 

73:2i. the Degrees. The Gemonian Steps. See note on 
" Gemonies " (p. 40, 1. 95). 

75:55. Stygian lake. The river Styx in the lower world; 
called " lake " because of the nine circuits of its sluggish current. 
— 59. After . . . death. An infelicitous echo, — " For in that 
sleep of death what dreams may come," — from Hamlet's 
soliloquy. — 72. leaf of Seneca. In allusion probably to this 
author's tract On the Firmness of the Sage. 

76 : 89. Marius' story. As told (" Caius Marius ") in Plu- 
tarch's Lives. 

77: 127. Virbius. The name borne by Hippolytus, after he 
was restored to life by iEsculapius. See note on " Phaedra " 
(p. 92, 1. 71). — 140. Iphis. Borrowed from Ovid's story 
(Metamorphoses, xiv. 698 ff.) of Iphis and Anaxarete. 

78 : 163. Sphinx. The monster, sent by Juno, to ravage the 
territory of the Thebans. After (Edipus solved its riddle, it 
destroyed itself by leaping from the rock. 

88:297. share. That is, of the receipts or profits from 
the play. — 297. Sit down with. If you sit down under. — ■ 
298. Gaditane. In allusion to a passage (Satires, xi. 162-164) in 
Juvenal. 

92:7i. Phaedra. The wife of Theseus, who conceived a 
violent passion for her stepson Hippolytus, and, being repulsed, 
procured his death. 

94: 114. Vulcan's filing. An allusion to the invisible net by 
which Vulcan (Odyssey, viii) exposed the amour of his wife with 
Mars. 

95 : 159. Strangle him. This is widely at variance with Sue- 
tonius (xi). Aretinus Clemens was connected by marriage with 
the family of Vespasian, and was appointed by Mucianus prefect 
of the Praetorian Guard (b.c. 70). While he is of purpose de- 
graded in this play, the author has small warrant for denominat- 
ing him " Caesar's spy." 

98: 241. Why, when? Pray, when? An idiom of impa- 
tience. Cf. Julius Ccesar, II. i. 5 : 

When, Lucius, when? Awake, I say! What, Lucius ! 



398 THE MAID OF HONOUR 

100 : 295. Rent . . . hook. See note (p. 40, 1. 94) on " fas- 
tened to the hook." — 304. poets adorn. Subjunctive impera- 
tive : " Let poets adorn, . . . the stage mourn," etc. 

101 : 4. call him. Namely, Ascletario. Cf. his entry with 
Tribunes and Guard below. The episode following is taken 
from Dio Cassius, lxvii. 16. 

103 155. Omphale. Queen of Lydia, whom Hercules, dressed 
as a female slave, served three years. 

107 : 180. While . . . unknown. Till we have removed 
ourselves. — 188. discourse. More fully, " discourse of 
reason," " range of reasoning powers." Cf. Hamlet, I. ii. 150 : 

O God ! A beast that wants discourse of reason. 

108:201-204. Junius Rusticus . . . now appeared. Cf. Dio 
Cassius, lxvii. 16 : " In a vision he beheld Rusticus approaching 
him with a sword." There is no mention of Palphurius Sura, 
who survived Domitian. Historically, Junius Rusticus was 
put to death by Domitian, some years earlier, because he wrote a 
panegyric upon Thrasea, a Stoic reformer executed in the reign 
of Nero. 

109 : 252. Ore. An unknown and perhaps mythical sea mon- 
ster. 

112: 19. Thus . . . all. Thus, then, we take any odds. 

115:78. this'. A contraction for this is. — 85. sentence. 
Before this word, " her " — or " forth " preceding " to " — seems 
to have dropped out of the text. 

THE MAID OF HONOUR 

118. thirty-second novel. The title of this novel is of inter- 
est : A Gentlewoman and Wydow called Camiola of her owne 
minde Raunsomed Roland the Kyng's Sonne of Sicilia, of purpose 
to haue him to hir husband, who when he was redeemed vnkindly 
denied hir, agaynst whom very Eloquently, she Inueyed, and al- 
though the Law proued him to be hir Husband, yet for his vnkind- 
ness, slice vtterly refused him. 

119. Sir Francis Foljambe . . . and Sir Thomas Bland. 
The notion that Massinger wrote this play with Catholic sym- 
pathies invites the conjecture that he would seek patronage for it 
among men of his own faith. Sir Francis Foljambe, Baronet, 
appears, in 1631, as defendant in a tithes case before the Court 



THE MAID OF HONOUR 399 

of Star Chamber and High Commission {Camden Society, 1886, 
p. 66). But among the many allegations of the prosecutor there 
is no mention or hint of recusancy, — an inconceivable omission 
and sufferance, in this court, for any Papist. No proof is found 
of Sir Thomas Bland's affiliations with Catholics. 

120. Duke of Urbin. The duchy of Urbino was of importance 
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Its capital of the same 
name, built near the border of the Apennines and some twenty 
miles distant from the Adriatic, was once called, because of emi- 
nence in art and architecture, the Athens of Italy. 

121 : 8. show water. Disclose coin, to clear my eyesight. 

122 : 25. revenue. Often accented in the Elizabethan period, 
as here, on the second syllable. — 28. Fortunate Islands. The 
Latin name, Fortunate Insula, of the Canaries. — 32. time of 
. . . point. Time necessary for fastening tagged laces, or 
points, which required no knot. See Points in Glossary. 

123 : 55. Foundered. Supply are : " they founder, i.e. stum- 
ble and go lame, in a retreat." — 56. courage sympathize. 
Supply to between the words. — 68. knight of Malta. One of 
a military and religious order called Hospitallers, founded at 
Jerusalem near the middle of the eleventh century. Its gov- 
erning chapter was in course of time transferred to Malta, 
whence the modern name. 

124: 77. dependencies. Matters in suspense, grounds of a 
controversy. — 88. Lachrymae. Title of a work by John 
Dowland (b. 1562), a musician and composer ; said to have been 
a friend of Shakespeare. 

128 : 201. purple. See note (p. 54, 1. 19) on " Tyrian purple." 

129: 227. When the Iberian . . . named. The reference is 
to the Spanish Armada, and Howard, Drake, Hawkms, Fro- 
bisher, and other English sea-dogs who engaged it. For the 
borrowing from Puck, cf. Midsummer-Night's Dream, II. i. 175. 
— 240. To break . . . temple. To give the signal for battle. 

131 : 5. gentleman-usher. Polished courtier who acts as 
usher to a sovereign. — 15. you . . . suds. In distress or 
confusion; not unlike the slangish " in the soup," current some 
years ago. — 18. whole trade . . . teeth. Barbers were also 
surgeons in England until 1745. 

135: 108. Antony . . . Cleopatra. See Antony and Cleo- 
patra, III. x. 18-24. — 121. not parallels . . . divided. Radii 
cut off or " divided " before their meeting at the centre. — ■ 



400 THE MAID OF HONOUR 

128. Thersites. The scurrilous reviler of the Greeks {Iliad, 
ii. 212 ff.) in the Trojan siege; one of the characters in Shake- 
speare's Troilus and Cressida. — 129. Irus. See note, p. 66, 

1. 358. 

136 : 153. dispensed with. Suffered to have exemption. 

142 : 42. Tamburlaine in little. In allusion to Marlowe's 
play of Tamburlaine the Great, in which the title character uses 
Bajazeth as his footstool. 

144 : 90. suit-broker. One who makes it his business to 
solicit favourable action at court on petitions of unprivileged 
folk. 

146: 157. the proverb's stale. "What is gotten on the 
devil's back is spent under his belly.' ' 

147: 177. haggard. Untamed, intractable hawk that refuses 
to bring down birds in falconry. Also, as here, " profligate, " 
" wanton." 

153 : 28. Vae victis ! " Woe to the conquered; " quoted from 
Livy, v. 48. 

157 : 29. Posse et nolle, nobile. " To be able and yet not 
wish is noble." 

158 : 59. port we should bear. Style we should maintain. 
— 70. gazet. An ancient Venetian coin, worth three-fourths 
of a cent. 

160: 125. cry broom, or cat's meat. Perhaps " cry broom- 
cat's meat," broom-cat being an old name for " hare." Cry, of 
course, is " hawk," " peddle." 

171 : 184. Take me with you. Not so fast, make yourself 
intelligible. 

176 : 7. Seneca . . . thought. M. Annaeus Seneca, rhetori 
cian and tutor to Nero, wrote tragedies, and tracts on Sto: 
doctrine. The reference is again (see p. 75, 1. 72) to his 
Conslantia Sapientis, " On the Firmness of the Sage, or Eviden 
that No Harm can Befall the Wise." — 12. Soothing his lip- 
positions. Unconsidered statements, " positions " taken offhand, 
by the lips rather than by reason. Soothing is saying " true," 
'true," continually, to these positions. 

178 : 00. nil ultra. "Nothing beyond ; n a phrase almost 
mannerisl ic with t his aui nor. 

184: lott. To the centre . . . guiding me. Suggested by the 
visit of /Kneas to the Cumaean sibyl (Mneid, \i. 40-155), for 
counsel concerning his proposed visit to the underworld. 



1 






A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 401 

192 : 10. " Willow, willow!" In allusion to Desdemona's 
song {Othello, IV. hi), or the ballad from which it is varied. — 
11. " Go by ! " A sneering reference to Kyd's play, The Span- 
ish Tragedy. 

195 : 73. the presence full. When the assembly of courtiers 
or nobles, to whom. the Duchess is giving audience, is at the 
full 

202 : 146. take the right-hand file. Similar and equivalent 
to " be admitted to the front rank." 

A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 

211. your incomparable lady. Anne Sophia Herbert, daugh- 
ter of Philip Herbert, Earl of Montgomery, who married Robert 
Dormer, Earl of Carnarvon, February 27, 1625. The Earl of 
Carnarvon joined the royalist forces, and fell at the first battle 
of Newbury, September 20, 1643. 

212. Term-Driver. One who moves about, during sessions, 
from court to court. 

213 : 8. quit me. Acquit me, i.e. of being a rogue. — 
11. Plymouth cloak. Obsolete slang for "cudgel." — 15. 
rusty billmen. Men bearing bills or halberds seldom used; 
the weapons of warders and watchmen. 

214: 18. At his own peril. Said, of course, to Froth. 
Supply " let him," before these words. — 25. in chalk. In the 
score, as kept on an ale-house wall, in chalk. — 34. quorum. 
Some or all justices of the peace commissioned to sit or act as a 
court. — 35. custos rotulorum. Keeper of the Rolls, or records 
of the court. — 42. prime gallant. Leader in dissipation. 

215 : 54. token. A small metallic disk, like a coin, worth 
about one-fourth of a cent ; once given or redeemed as change by 
merchants. — 56. paper-pellets. I. O. XL's. — 65. stuck not. 
Did not stickle or haggle about charges. — 70. your petition . . . 
quarter. On your making proper petition, I might allow you a 
penny a week. — 71. dog-bolt. Originally, a blunt-headed bolt 
or arrow; here, a cant term of reproach. — 75. Make purses. 
Make up purses. 

216 : 88. tread . . . mortar. Lumps of lime were once trod- 
den, for making mortar, by men wearing wooden shoes. — 
92. sceptre. The cudgel which Wellborn has been using. 

217 : 124. wonder. Affected surprise. — 131. Does it blush. 



402 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 

At mention of Margaret, Allworth shows embarrassment, which 
Wellborn attributes, through it, to folly (1. 128). 

218 : 136. porter's lodge. A small dwelling near the entrance 
of an estate or park. Here masters castigated their servants 
with the lash. — 137. sworn servant . . . pantofle. Articled 
page, and so bound to carry your master's or mistress's slippers. 
— 148. envious. Inimical, malicious. Cf. Shakespeare's use 
(Venus, 705) of the same phrase. — 160. swelling. Here 
" pretentious," " pompous." Cf. again, Shakespeare's swelling 
port {Merchant of Venice, I. i. 124), and swelling scene (Henry V , 
Prol. 4). 

219: 168. material. Echoed correctingly from matter in 
the same line. It is a matter of much moment. — 171. pieces, 
Coins, of twenty-two shillings' value. — 172. fashion. By 
synecdoche for " dress." 

220 : 4. misses . . . function. Falls short in performance of 
duty. — 10. Cooks . . . choleric. Cooks, from the exacting 
nature of their work, have warrant to be testy. 

221 : 25. raise fortifications . . . pastry. Raising fortifica- 
tions in pastry was an accomplishment of expert cooks at court 
and in great houses. Defences of towns in the Low Countries, 
which were at war with Spain till 1648, might be said, or imag- 
ined, to furnish models. — 27. Breda. A city of Brabant, in the 
Netherlands, besieged for a year and captured by the Spaniards, 
under Spinola, in 1625. — 32. to your pet. To your being in a 
pet, or fit of pique. — 33. Marry. Originally, a profane use 
of Mary, the name of the virgin. Here nearly equivalent to 
the expletive " why." — 42. stolen . . . commission. Secured 
his commission, as a justice of the peace, by fraud. 

222 : 50. in little. In miniature. 

224: 103. repair . . . place. Go to a scene of war as to a 
place. Place is in quasi apposition with thither. 

225: 11. runs o'er. Waters. 

226 : 24. here. Right now ; at the present point. — 
30. Henrici decimo quarto. " In the fourteenth year of King 
Henry"; according to the ancient formula of reference to a 
statute. — 35. corner . . . pasty. Angle or " piece " of pie. — 43. 
Pie-corner. Said with punning reference to " corner of pasty " 
(1. 35) above, and to Pie-corner of Giltspur Street in London. 

227:46. served . . . basket. Baskets of broken meat and 
bread from the tables of the great were borne daily to the porter's 



A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 403 

lodge and the two Counters, or debtors' prisons. — 60. to make 
legs. To move the legs in bowing ; " scrape." 

228: 6$. batten Upon reversions! Feast upon remains, 
after others' eating, that " revert " to the kitchen. — 76. 
Though sworn. Though oath were made. Sworn is in absolute 
construction. — 83. take order. Take steps, give orders. 

229 : 103. gave him fashion. Furnished him means of con- 
forming to requirements of fashion in taste and manners. 
Cf. I. i. 172. 

231 : 2. Your worships. Men gifted like your worship. — 
4. chapf alien justice. See I. hi. 26-34. — 5. certificate. 
Deposition or other document ruled out by Greedy. — 17. 
praemunire. The offence of encroaching upon the power of 
the crown, and punishable by forfeiture of property or imprison- 
ment. — 20. my devotion. The condition of being devoted 
to my interests, to me. 

232 : 41. in forma pauperis. " In status of a pauper." 

233 : 52. close cheat . . . him. Deceptions of which I made 
him secretly the victim. — 65. Not all the world . . . gallows. 
Theft and forgery, as well as murder, were punished by hanging 
in England till near the beginning of the last century. — 76. 
Right honourable. The title appropriate to wives and daughters 
of certain peers. 

236 : 134. Lady of the Lake. The water spirit and enchantress 
of the Morte Darthur. — 139. pass her porter. See note 
(p. 218, 1. 136) on " porter's lodge." — 142. see thee curvet. 
That is, when tossed like a dog in a blanket. 

237 : 18. true elixir. The elixir which prolongs life indefi- 
nitely, and of which the famed elixir vita is but a counterfeit. 
— 20. cocks of the game. Game-cocks. — 22. Coral and 
ambergris. Coral is the roe or eggs of lobsters; so called from 
the colour produced by cooking. Ambergris is a substance found 
in the intestines of the sperm whale; now used in perfumes, 
and once employed in cookery. 

238 : 38. primer. A comparatively new word in Massinger's 
day. " The earliest extant reading book, or A B C, published 
in the reign of Henry VIII, contains the alphabet, short prayers, 
etc." (Deighton.) 

239:55. rails. The water-rail, or perhaps the water-hen, 
both esteemed as game. 

241 : 100. cooks are Persians. That is, " are Zoroastrians, 



404 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 

being fire-worshippers." — 108. groats. The groat was an Eng- 
lish silver piece, coined from 1272 till 1660, and worth eight cents. 

242: 123. Ram Alley. An avenue leading from Fleet Street 
to the Temple and abounding in cook-shops. — 131. after a 
leg or two. See p. 227, 1. 60. — 133. chid. That is, for linger- 
ing from his mistress. 

243: 137. companion. Not equal, but inferior; here nearly 
equivalent to " butt." — 144. An it like. If it please. Like had 
often, in this age, the transitive sense of "suit." The present 
phrase belonged to the language of inferiors. Cf. Winter's Tale, 
IV. iv. 767 and V. ii. 167. 

244: 2. casualties. Slips between the cup and the lip. — - 
13. out of . . . cozenage. Merely from expectation of swin- 
dling me hereafter. 

245:27. amber. For ambergris. See note above (p. 237) 
on this word. — 29. for change. To enable a change of dress. — 
t,j. glebe land. Land belonging to an ecclesiastical establish- 
ment. — 38. manure. Originally signified " maneuver " ; here 
" till," " cultivate." 

246 : 60. Sirrah. Originally a lengthened form of sir, and 
later used generally in peremptory address to inferiors. — 
63. conjuring. Conjuring up something. Marrall is usually 
quick to respond. 

247 : 80. Simple . . . here. A phrase of the period : " in- 
significant, worthless as I am." — 84. sad. Become sad; 
a verb now lost to the language. — 99. beggar's plot. Over- 
reach, now accepting Marrall's story, believes that he was 
feasted, not by Lady Allworth, but some maid wearing her 
mistress's robes. 

248: 104. crown. An English silver coin, worth $1.22. 

250: 22. taxed with. Taken to task for. 

251 : 69. stood the Sirens. Ulysses resisted the allurements of 
the sea-nymphs so named by having himself lashed (cf. Odyssey, 
xii) to the mast of his ship. — 79. Hippolytus . . . Diana. 
Hippolytus, slain by order of his father Theseus, was restored to 
life by ^Esculapius at the request of Diana, who bore him away 
to [taly. Here, in the city of Aricia, he was worshipped under 
the name of Virbius. See note on " Phaedra," p. 92, 1. 71. 

253 : 31. affects me not. Does not impress me. 

254 : 39. Lady Downfallen. See 1 1. i. 78-80. — 48. counter. 
The jail connected with a city court. — 60. to. As, for. 



A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 405 

255: 67, Norfolk dumpling. A dumpling of the usual sub- 
stances, but cooked in the meat gravy of a stew. — 74. mistress 
dumpling. Mistress is here adjective — like the older minion, 
and its French original, mignon — with the sense of " favourite," 
" darling." — 82. as rise . . . glory. Rise is intransitive, not 
causative, while glory is an accusative of limit, " to the level of." 

256: 87. woodcocks. Frequent allusions to this bird are 
met with, in literature of the time, as a type of stupidity. Cf. 
Hamlet, I. iii. 115 ; V. 2. 317. — 96. collar of brawn. A piece 
of brawn or other meat rolled and tied close. " Brawn " is 
boar's flesh. — 105. assure him thine. Make him surely thine. 

257: 117. come off. Escape unharmed. 

259: 177. Put on. Be covered. — ■ 180. black-browed girl. 
Said with feigned depreciation. 

260: 199. tissues ... ill. Yellow and red do not match 
well. Tissue was a thin fabric interwoven with threads of gold 
and silver. Cloth of gold is a proper symbol of nobility, while 
scarlet, as worn by the Lord Mayor and aldermen, seems put 
for the aristocracy of trade. 

261 : 209. barathrum . . . shambles. Abyss of the pro- 
vision market ; the epithet (barathrum macelli) applied by 
Horace to a greedy man. — 211. Edwardi quinto. " According 
to the statute enacted in the fifth year of Edward." See note 
on " Henrici decimo quarto," p. 226, 1. 30. — 225. amorous 
carriage. Demeanour of one in love. 

263 : 250. to prevent my visit. Your anticipating my arrival 
by coming out thus to meet me. — 258. the relation . . . you. 
Expression of my assurances of respect and welcome. — 270. 
at large. Without stint ; i.e. of praise. 

265 : 306. bug words. Threatening language, scare words. 
For bug in the sense of bogy, bugbear, cf. Winter's Tale, III. ii. 
93. — 309. dispense . . . worship. Dispense with a little of 
your stateliness. 

266: 8. leaves my meat. Neglects my courses. — 25. 
Pasiphae. Wife of Minos, lawgiver of Crete. She was caused 
by Neptune to become enamoured of a white bull. 

270: 27. abate . . . five. Lower your estimate to an eighth 
of a mile less than five. 

271 : 50. shield of brawn. The hard part of a boar's neck, 
esteemed the best "brawn" or flesh of the animal. — 50. Col- 
chester — on the Colne, fifty-one miles northeast of London — ■ 



406 A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 

was famous for its oysters. — 53. hangman of Flushing. The 
reference may be to the execution of Pacheco, who, Italian engi- 
neer of Alva, and captured at Flushing, was ordered to be hanged. 
No executioner, however, could be had, the city hangman being 
absent. Even a condemned murderer, on promise of reprieve, 
refused except on the terms of killing any man who might after- 
wards taunt him with the deed. Cf. Motley, Rise of the Dutch 
Republic, II. vi. — 56. Christmas coffer. Properly, an earthen 
receptacle in which apprentices collected their subscriptions.- — 
56. To my wish. I am glad to see them go. — 72. revenue. 
See note on p. 122, 1. 25. 

272: 95. That. Neither, implied in nor of the next line, is 
understood. — 103. nil ultra. See note on p. 178, 1. 90. — 
105. port. State, style of living. 

273: 125. incloser . . . common. The reference is to the 
enclosing or appropriation of public grounds by rich proprietors ; 
not unlike the " fencing " of government lands in present times. 

274: 155. Olympus. More correctly " Parnassus." — 162. 
read . . . matins. Such a morning service of worship to the 
Fiend. 

275: 173. yet not so near. Usage of the time allowed the 
omission of as, in such phrases, before an infinitive. 

276: 203. fill their mouths. Stop the mouths of those.- 
213. to discharge. Carry through, accomplish. This infini- 
tive is the subject of the following verb, and, with consists, is 
the object of know. That is implied before each verb. — 
226. London blue. Gentry; since the servants of noble fami- 
lies in London wore blue liveries. Scarlet was the tradesman's 
colour. 

277: 247. So. On these terms. — 11. all . . . house. 
All the goings-on in it. 

278: i2. bawdry. Assignations. — 20. letter R. As the 
abbreviation of rogue. — 25. drum. Beaten to attract a crowd, 
like the ringing of a bell at auctions. — 30. pageants. Street 
shows, on cars or floats. — 35. trash. A cant term for money. 
Cf. Othello, III. iii. 157. 

279: 45. Fear . . . Giles. You have no call, trust me, to 
fear Sir Giles. It is often accessary to over-render the ethical 
dative, as here, by a verb. —52. drew out fosset. Kept an 
ale house. 

280 : 68. the great Turk came. The Sultan had become, 



A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS 407 

after Solyman the Magnificent laid siege to Vienna in 1559, 
the bugbear of Europe. Came, should come, is past subjunc- 
tive. — 73. gammon of bacon. Pickled and dried ham. Suf- 
folk dairy products are still standard. — 75. emolument. 
Usually, of course, " compensation," " profit," but here more 
nearly " entertainment," " comfort " ; used, with esculent, 
pretentiously, to abash the illiterate Tap well. — 87. Bankside. 
The Southwark side of the Thames, where had stood the Globe, 
and other theatres. 

281 : 95. botch no more. Set up again for a proper tailor. 

282 : 127. play not my prize. Play my part in the game. — ■ 
8. that high office. The Court of Heaven. 

283 : 24. Indian mines. The diamond mines of Golconda, 
famous in the age of Massinger and Milton. Cf. P. L. II. 2. 

284: 61. a confidence . . . him. A presuming upon his 
rank that will cause him disappointment. 

285: %%. all. Here Elizabethan for "the least," "any." 

— 96. running at the ring. Riding at a pole, in the attempt to 
pick off, with the point of a lance, a ring suspended from the top. 

— 100. peevishness. May be here concrete, as Gifford sug- 
s gests : your peevish self. 

286: 114. Got'em. A play on Gotham, a village in Notting- 
hamshire. Beneficed is provided with a church living. — 122. pre- 
vent you. Anticipate you. — 135. paroquito. A variant of 
parrot; perhaps from the Spanish periquito. 

287 : 137. trencher. The servant who carves, at a side table, 
for the family and guests at dinner. 

288: 19. Stand yet in supposition. Have not passed the 
hypothetic, suppositional stage. 

289: 52. A widow . . .me. The Spaniard was proverbially 
jealous ; hence supposably averse to marrying the wife of a 
j deceased husband. 

292 : 107. on her left hand . . . nods on you. " Your lady- 
ship standing on her left hand — i.e. yielding her precedence — 
and courtesying low to her when she merely nods to you with 
proud condescension." (Deighton.) — 114. No more! Am 
I to be addressed with only " Sir "? — 115. redeemed. That 
is, from pawn. — -126. since you are peremptory. Since you 
affect to be insistent. — 129. by statute. Or, as we should say, 
by hypothecation, or b}' giving a lien. — 131. lavender robes. 
Clothes that have been redeemed from pawn. 



408 A NEW WAV TO PAY OLD DEBTS 

293 : 146. Armed . . . practices. Referring to the " deed 3 
and "many other writings" of which Marrall (IV. ii. 123, 125) 
has spoken. 

294: 156. howe'er. Although. — 176. extended. In law, 
to extend is to seize by writ. 

295: 185. Indented. Contracts, in Massinger's days, were 
made as now in duplicate, of which either party kept one. The 
written matter was copied double on one sheet, which was then 
divided by an indented line. The two parts were proved to be 
genuine by fitting with exactness along this line. Each of these 
documents was said to be " indented." — 196. Your neck . . 
circle. Witchcraft was punishable by death in England for 
nearly a century after this play was written. The year of the 
last convictions was 171 2. 

296: 233. take in. Capture. Dunkirk, the northernmost 
town of France on the English Channel, was often contended 
for by the French and Spanish until it came into the possession 
of England in 1658. — 236. fix here. Be fixed here, in my 
breast. 

298: 284. passages. See note on p. 277, 1. n. 

299 : 290. Village nurses. Country midwives. — 294. char- 
ity to. Love for. — 310. Libyan lion. Supposed typical, in 
the Elizabethan age, for fierceness. — 310. toil. Usually toils, 
meshes, nets. 

300: 323. madam. Said reassuringly, and with high com- 
pliment, to Margaret, who seems inconsolable. The word 
implied social distinction at the date of this play. — 326. pur- 
chase. To acquire real estate, — a law term. 

301 : 349. cleaver. The ax-like instrument used by butch- 
ers and cooks for dividing joints. 

302: 375. mittimus. Order of a magistrate committing a 
person to jail, or, as here, to a madhouse. — 376. Bedlam. 
The hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem, for incurable lunatics, 
in London. — 377. dark room. Once part of the treatment of 
the insane. Cf. Twelfth Night, III. iv. 148; V. ii. 23 ff. — 387. 
anchor. Lady All worth. — 395. half made up. That is, in 
character. For the literal basis of the figure, see Richard III , 
I. i. 2r. 

303: 401. motion. Proposal. — 4or. wants. Is wanting. 
The lines now spoken by Wellborn are addressed to the audience, 
and lake: I he place of a formal epilogue. 



BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 409 



BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 

307: 5. A . . . example. The allusion is to Dom Sebastian, 
a pretender to the throne of Portugal, and the hero of the play 
(see Introduction, p. 11) in its first form. Dom Sebastian was 
commonly believed to have been killed in the battle of Alcazar 
in 1578. — 21. hath hit the white. Targets, in archery, had a 
large circle of white surrounding the centre or bull's eye. 

309 : 6. Athenian Academy. A gymnasium in the suburbs of 
Athens, where Plato taught. Of this Academy there were three 
schools or divisions : the Old Academy, lasting till the death of 
Plato (b.c. 347) ; the Middle Academy under Arcesilaus, who 
died B.C. 241 ; and the New Academy under Lacydes, lasting 
till near the end of the century. The author must suppose 
Antiochus to have been a scholar of the Academy (cf. note fol- 
lowing) in its third period. — 17. when the Eastern world . . . 
on me. Antiochus the Great was the fifth in descent from 
Seleucus, the first king of Syria and Babylonia, and succeeded 
his father, B.C. 223. Influenced by Hannibal, to whom he had 
given asylum, he defied the Roman power, but was crushingly 
defeated by Scipio Asiaticus, B.C., 190, and lost his life in a 
Persian insurrection three years later. 

310 : 29. the Stoic . . . you. The teachings of Zeno (b.c. 
336P-264?) prescribed resistance to passion, indifference to joy 
or pain, and submission to the decrees of fate. — 34. That river 
... of . Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in the lower world ; 
mentioned once {Iliad, ii. 2>2>) by Homer, but frequently in later 
writers. — 38. Achaia's bloody plains. Antiochus invaded 
Greece, B.C. 191, and was defeated at Thermopylae by the Ro- 
man Consul Acilius Glabrio, but with small loss in comparison 
with the 50,000 slain in his defeat by Scipio the next year. 
After the destruction of Corinth, B.C. 146, all Greece was included 
in the province called Achaia, but the name is not used with 
accuracy or propriety here. — 45. Marcus Scaurus. Marcus 
iEmilius Scaurus, born B.C. 163, was a successful commander 
in Spain, conquered the Ligurians, and built the Milvian bridge 
; at Rome. He did not figure in the Eastern wars, and lived more 
than a generation too late to be concerned with the downfall of 
Antiochus. The author may have had in mind Lucius ^milius 
Scaurus, who, after the defeat of Antiochus in the naval battle 



410 BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 

of Myonnesus (Livy, xxxvii. 31), was placed in command of a 
part of the Roman fleet in the yEgean. 

311 : 56. Old . . . fierce beams . . . vain. Massinger's 
manuscript is here, as in a few other passages, illegible from 
age and dampness. — 61. Under the spear. In ancient Rome, 
a spear fastened upright in the ground served as the sign of an 
auction. 

312: 103. king Of Parthia. Properly mentioned here, since 
Antiochus made a treaty with the king of Parthia in the early 
part of his reign. The Parthian kingdom, one of the dismem- 
bered parts of Alexander's empire, lasted from B.C. 256 till a.d. 
226, when, after a struggle of almost three centuries, it suc- 
cumbed to Rome. — 105. will cry aim. Will give encourage- 
ment. Old-time officers encouraged their archers by crying 
"Aim," as they were about to shoot. — 119. unravel. The 
fourth folio of the manuscript ends here, and the two pages 
following, each containing about sixty lines, are virtually ob- 
literated. From the letters and signs remaining, and from the 
allusions of the paragraph following, it is clear that Chrysalus 
and (cf. II. i) two other servants have entered to the king, and 
robbed him of his money and his royal dress. 

313: 156. like a palm-tree. It was believed that the vigour 
of the palm-tree could be increased by hanging weights upon its 
branches. 

314: 16. like a second Mercury. Like a second god of elo- 
quence. — 21. flamen. Priest devoted to the service of a par- 
ticular deity. — 22. image . . . pomp. Image representing 
the goddess seated in a chariot drawn by lions. 

315 : 26. Mother of the gods ! The Magna Mater of the Ro- 
mans, Rhea, the wife of Kronos, but sometimes identified \^ith 
the Phrygian Cybele. — 28. Flaminius. Titus Quint us Fla- 
minius, consul B.C. 198, defeated Philip of Macedon, and 
gran led freedom and independence to the Greek states. See 
note on " Letters of credence/' p. 351, 1. 64. — 33. jus gen- 
tium. Here used in the modern sense of " law of nations," 
rather than " code of laws governing relations of Rome with 
aliens/' which is its proper classic meaning. The former sense 
would be appropriate to Dom Sebastian and his party, in the 
first form of the play. — 42. embryon. Obsolete form of embryo. 

317 :7s. Tyrian fish. See note, p. 54, I. to, on " Tynan 
purple." <So. guarded robe. See note, p. 38, 1. eg. 



BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 411 

318: 139. Egyptian Ptolemy. Ptolemy Philopator (b.c. 
221-204), who defeated Antiochus the Great, and effected a 
treaty of alliance with Rome. 

323 : 24. Amilcar. Massinger was probably aware that the 
famous Hamilcar who held Sicily against the Romans and was 
killed in Spain as early as B.C. 229, could not properly appear as 
a character in this play. The reference can apply only to the 
Hamilcar conquered by the Scipios, B.C. 215. But this Hamil- 
car was not a popular leader and not " prince of the Carthaginian 
Senate." 

324 : 50. King Antiochus. The manuscript shows Bom Se- 
bastian, deleted, with " King " written above the first word, and 
"Antiochus" in the margin. — 69. gymnosophists. A class of 
Brahmanic ascetics who ate no flesh, eschewed clothing, re- 
nounced all bodily pleasures, and devoted themselves to medi- 
tation. After his defeat by Ptolemy (see note, p. 318, 1. 139 
above), Antiochus visited India and made an alliance with the 
king of that country. This notion of his escape from the fury 
of the Romans, and of his twenty-two years' roaming through 
the world, is only a convenient fiction. 

328 : 36. titular. Existent, valid in title only. — 50. Punic 
faith . . . enemies. By the standard of Regulus, who kept 
faith with the enemy in the first Punic war, the Romans affected 
to despise the honour of the Carthaginians. Compare Sallust, 
Jugurtha, 108, and Livy, xxi. 4. 

332 : 136. Roman . . . wolf. The sight of a wolf was once 
believed to take away the power of speech. — 160. Grave Hanno 
. . . greatness. Hanno was a leader of the popular faction at 
Carthage. Hasdrubal, who was of the same party, advocated 
peace with Rome as against the designs and policy of Hannibal. 
Carthalo, Hannibal's cavalry commander, defeated Mancinus 
B.C. 217, but was killed B.C. 208. 

334: 228. Callipolis. A city of the Thracian peninsula, op- 
posite Lampsacus, and distant some ten miles from ^Egospota- 
mos. 

336: 255. libbed. Apparently the past participle of lib, to 
geld. But the text is corrupt and uncertain here. 

336 : 276. wound ... oil and sulphur. The usual manner of 
treating gun-shot wounds — to forestall gangrene — in Mas- 
singer's day and after, till the campaigns of Marlborough. 

338 : 329. Antiochus. First written Sebastian, as in II. ii. 



412 



BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 



50. — 330. Python. A serpent, bred oi the stagnant waters 
remaining after the deluge of Deucalion. It inhabited and 
terrorized the region about Delphi till slain by the arrows of 
Apollo. — 344. and not rely. The antecedent not is brought 
along by and, thus making the phrase affirmative : " why did 
they rely," etc. 

339 : 369. Carthage. The uncorrected text has Venice. 

341 : 20. Afric. Massinger first wrote Europe here. — 22. 
proconsul Marcellus. The manuscript (Fol. 14, 1. 18) shows 
good king Horn , deleted. 

343 : 79. Batavian. The Batavian peninsula, or the modern 
Holland. — 85. Prusias. The king of Bithynia was included in 
the treaty made by the Romans with Philip of Macedon, B.C. 
205. He received Hannibal after the defeat and humiliation of 
Antiochus. 

344 : 7. chining of his fork. Breaking or splitting of his 
saddle. 

346 : 64. directions of Xenophon. Views concerning forms 
and methods of government contained in the Cyropcedia. 
Aristotle's treatise on Politics is well known and prized. 

347: 95. great Arsaces' issue. Arsaces II, defeated by An- 
tiochus and driven from the kingdom which Arsaces the Great 
founded by the defeat and capture of Seleucus, king of Babylon. 

348: 103. Bacchus . . . India. This country was the scene 
of Bacchus' most signal conquests. — in. Pluto. God of the 
lower world, and inexorable to all human prayers. — 112. 
Cocytus. The River of Wailing, in the lower world; here put 
for the lower world itself. — 122. rampire. Used often by 
dramatists of the period for rampart. The reference is of course 
to the bulk of Berecinthius. 

360 : 28. All rubs . . . counsels. Rubs are obstructions that 
might, in bowling, divert the ball. Bias is a weight put on one 
side of the ball to make it move in a curve. 

351 : 64. Letters of credence. Credentials. It is of record 
that Flaminius was dispatched to Prusias, B.C. 183, to demand 
the person, not of Antiochus, but of Hannibal. See note on 
11 Prusias," p. 343, 1. 85. 

355: 186. mandrake's shrieks. It was a mediaeval supersti- 
tion that the mandrake, when torn from the soil, " sighs, shrieks, 
and moans so piteously that he who hears must die." The 
aspic or asp, celebrated as the means of Cleopatra's suicide, was 



BELIEVE AS YOU LIST 413 

perhaps the horned viper. The basilisk was a fabulous serpent 
whose breath or look was fatal. 

356: 214. tax ... of. Accuse of, tax with. 

357 : 244. eyes. Omitted in the manuscript. — 249. request 
of favour. Request for a favour. — 252. these my lions. See 
note on " image drawn in pomp," p. 314, 1. 22. 

360:25. Medea's drugs. Medea, princess of Colchis, who 
fled to Greece with Jason in the Argo, was skilled in sorcery 
and restored the youth of ^Eson, Jason's father, by drugs and 
magic. — 27. viper wine. Wine in which vipers or snakes 
were steeped; supposed to have the property of restoring 
manly vigour. 

361: 61. his process framed. When the writ summoning 
him to trial has been drawn. 

367: 131. engrossed. Amassed. 

369: 187. Thessalian Tempe. The Vale of Tempe, in Thes- 
saly ; famed by poets for its cool shades and flowering groves. — 
189. Venus . . . hours. According to the myth, Venus ob- 
tained the boon from Proserpina, queen of the lower world, 
that her deceased Adonis should spend half the year with her on 
earth. 

1371. Berecinthius. The manuscript copy reads here Sam- 
payOj with " Berecinthius " written over this word. — 4. Ta'en 
away my lions. Image of Cybele, worn as a badge of power. 
See note, p. 314, 1. 22. 

373:62. More grave than Alexander. Perhaps reminiscent 
of Hamlet, V. i. 218, 219: 

Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion i' the earth? 

378 : 20. said of Bellerophon. Bellerophon was the son of 
Glaucus, and endowed by the gods with heroic strength and 
beauty. Being falsely accused by Antea, the queen of Argos, 
tie was made bearer of a message to her father, the king of 
Lycia. But the message was the " warrant for his death." 

379 : 74. Sardis. The capital of Croesus, king of Lydia, and 

city of importance in classic times. It was taken and plun- 
ered, after a long siege, by Antiochus. 

390: 189. Drag . . . oar. That is, as a galley slave. Com- 
pare the first line of this act. 

392 : 238. Gyarae. Gyaros, a small island in the ^Egean, on 
hich the Romans maintained a penal colony. 



GLOSSARY 



Terms readily found in an unabridged dictionary, an encyclopaedia, or a gazetteer 
are for the most part not included in this list. 



Abram-man, beggar feigning lu- 
nacy. 
Abuse, impose upon. 
Accuse, blame. 
Action, the actor's art. 
Actuate, make actual, execute. 
Admire, wonder at. 
Advertised, notified. 
Ambling, easy-going. 
Anatomies, skeletons. 
Anatomize, open to view. 
Apostata, apostate. 
Arbitrament, arbitration. 
Atheism, godlessness. 

B 

Bait, take food on a journey. 
Bandog, dog held by a band or 

chain. 
Batoon, an old form of baton. 
Battalia, army. 
Bearing, substantial. 
Bisognio, needy fellow. 
Black-jack, leathern jug. 
Bob, blow, taunt. 
Botches, patches. 
Brach, female dog. 
Bravery, brave show, finery. 
Bravo, hired assassin. 
Bug, bogy, bugbear. 
Buss, kiss. 
By, of, concerning. 
By blow, illegitimate child. 



Calvered, pickled. 
Canter, vagabond. 
Captived, captured. 
Carbonado, slice of grilled meat. 



Care, anxiety. 

Cark, anxiety. 

Caroche, coach. 

Cates, viands. 

Cat-stick, bat used in the games 
of tip-cat and trap-ball. 

Cavallery, cavalry. 

Censure, judgement, estimate. 

Challenge, claim. 

Chamber, a small mortar for firing 
salutes. 

Chamberer, chambermaid. 

Champaign, level field. 

Chargeable, costly, expensive. 

Chitterlings, fried skins of sau- 
sages. 

Circular, perfect, complete. 

Clemmed, pinched with hunger. 

Clubbers, club-men. 

Coming, complaisant. 

Companion, butt, despicable fel- 
low. 

Composition, conditions, com- 
promise. 

Conceit, opinion. 

Conditioned, constituted. 

Conference, discourse, discussion. 

Confirm, give more assurance. 

Constant, positive, assured. 

Constantly, with fixed purpose. 

Corsive, Corrosive, irritant or 
caustic medicament. 

Counsel, confidences, secrets. 

Counter, debtors' prison. 

Cozen, cheat. 

Curious, fastidious, scrupulous. 



Decimo sexto, sixteenmo. 
Decline, deflect ; diminish ; shun. 
Defeated, cheated. 



414 



GLOSSARY 



415 



Deliver, show, discover. 
Demon, evil spirit, devil. 
Descents, transfers, transmissions. 
Disclose, hatch. 
Dog-whip, whip for driving away 

or chastising dogs; often with 

two or more lashes. 
Dotage, excessive fondness. 
Doubt, fear. 
Drab, prostitute. 



Enable, furnish means. 
Entradas, revenues. 
Esculent, edible. 
Estridge, ostrich. 
Extended, seized under a writ. 
Extremes, extreme need, 



Farce, fill full, stuff. 

Feodary, vassal. 

Fetch in, arrest. 

Fewterer, keeper of hunting dogs. 

Filed, polished. 

Fix, become fixed. 

Fond, foolish. 

Fondness, folly. 

Fraught, load ; put aboard. 

Frequent, common ; commonly or 

repeatedly reported. 
Frieze, coarse woollen cloth. 
Furmenty, hulled wheat boiled to 

a mush in milk. 



Gabions, wicker frames filled with 
earth ; used in fortifications. 

Gainsome, gainly, prepossessing. 

Gallantry, ostentation, extrava- 
gance. 

Gallerian, galley slave. 

Gentry, rank and breeding. 

Glorious, vainglorious, haughty. 

Go-before, usher. 

Godwit, web-foot game bird. 

Gut, stomach, maw. 



Hearse, bier. 



Imp, affix. 

Impotence, madness, violence. 
Impotently, uncontrollably. 
Interessed, interested. 



Jealousy, suspicion. 

K 

Kickshaws, fancy dishes. 
Ejiaves, serving-men, menials. 
Knuckle, knee or hock joint. 



Laid, contrived, planned. 
Lanceprezado, lance-corporal, low- 
est officer. 
Lavolta, dance resembling a waltz. 
Leg, low and ceremonious bow. 
Lets, hindrances. 
Libyan, Numidian, African. 
Liege, bound to allegiance. 
Lighted, alighted. 
Line, strengthen. 
Linings, inner merits. 
Lordships, domains. 

M 

Mainprize, security for appear- 
ance in court. 

Manumised, manumitted. 

Markets, sales, bargains. 

Minion, forward girl or woman, 
minx. 

Mithridate, general antidote for 
poisons. 

Moment, importance. 

Morrow, morning. 

Muscadine, muscat wine. 



Observance, deference. 
Of force, perforce. 
Outcry, auction. 
Overcuriously, overfastidiously. 



Padders, footpads. 
Palermo, wine of Palermo. 



416 



GLOSSARY 



Palled, staled, tasteless. 

Panada, bread soaked in hot 
sweetened water. 

Pantofles, slippers. 

Parling, parleying. 

Passion, excitement, suffering. 

Patch, fool. 

Peat, petite creature. 

Perfect, fully informed. 

Piddling, trifling, paltry. 

Pile, spear, javelin. 

Points, tagged laces, connecting 
doublet and hose. 

Poise, equal. 

Practice, device, plot, artifice. 

Precipice, downfall. 

Precisian, formalist, Puritan. 

Pregnant, fertile, obvious. 

Presence, assembly of courtiers. 

Prevent, anticipate. 

Process, order of court or magis- 
trate. 

Property, chattel, tool. 

Provant, ordinary, common. 

Purchase, booty. 

Pursy, corpulent, scant of breath. 



Quaint, crafty. 
Quarry, game. 

Quince-cakes, cakes flavoured 
with preserved quinces. 



Ragged, rugged, rough. 

Rampire, rampart ; enclose with a 
rampart. 

Rap, carry away, transport. 

Rebated, blunted. 

Relation, account, report. 

Resolve, decide ; satisfy, con- 
vince. 

Respects, cares. 

Retribution, requital. 

Riot, wild and costly revelling. 

Rise, cause to rise. 



Sans, without. 
Seductor, seducer. 



Shape, stage costume. 
Skills not, does not matter. 
'Slight, by God's light. 
Smock-gamester, Smock-vermin, 

lecher. 
Solecism, unnatural act. 
Sorts, falls out, happens. 
Spoon-meat, broths, gruels. 
Still, invariably, always. 
Stipendiary, hireling. 
Story, history. 
Strike, bushel. 
Style, title. 
Success, issue. 
Switch, riding-rod. 



Table-book, note-book. 
Tame-cat, rabbit. 
Tamin, linsey-woolsey. 
Temperance, self-restraint. 
Tissue, light gauzy fabric. 
Tit, smart wench. 
Towardly, compliant, kindly. 
Toys, trivial allegations. 
Trencher, wooden plate. 
Trim, ornament. 
Tripe, tripery, tripe-shop. 
Trussed, laced. 



Uncase, flay. 



Vail, lower. 

Vappa, insipid wine. 

Varlet, low menial, rogue. 

Viaticum, expense-money for J 

journey. 
Vindicate, liberate. 

W 

Where, whereas. 

Whilom, formerly. 

Witch, wizard (as well as witch). 



%7iWt 



fe, ready, manageable. 



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